"Does it ever get better?" Clare sobbed into Adam's shoulder. He let out a soft laugh as he held her close to him.
"Because I'm oh-so-experienced in the field of dating and heartbreak," he remarked sarcastically. "I think you're asking the wrong person, Clare."
Her let herself smile genuinely at Adam. It was always good to have him around, especially now.
Clare just broke up with Eli a few days ago and was still hurt. Sure, she had experienced hurt before with KC but this was different. With Eli, Clare saw more of a future and a better connection than with KC. Plus; it hurt even more when she saw how scared he was in the hospital of being left. Eli was unstable though and Clare couldn't be around that; not anymore.
"It just…it just hurts so much," Clare got out before tears began to freefall from her eyes and onto Adam's shirt again.
"I know, Clare," he said just above a whisper. "I know." Adam tried to choke back his own tears and sadness. He needed to be strong for Clare; she needed him to be strong. But Adam wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up his façade of being fine.
Just last week Adam found out that Fiona wasn't into him but rather into who he once was. It killed him to know that the girl he felt so strongly for, the girl he was falling in love with, had simply been using him as a mask to hide her true intentions and true feelings. That day was still vivid in his mind; when she called him the 'best of both worlds.' He practically heard his heart shatter as the words left her mouth.
Adam's body tensed slightly at the memory and Clare felt it. She pulled away from him and saw the extreme depression in his eyes. Clare felt bad for crying to Adam about her and Eli's break up right after his very own heartbreaking breakup. But she thanked him for being there for her and helping her through this hard time.
Sure, she had other friends like Alli she could cry to, but Alli wouldn't understand what she and Eli had like Adam would. And yeah, Adam could go running to Drew with his problems but Drew wouldn't be anywhere near as caring as Clare would be. So now they found themselves sitting together, comforting each other.
"Thank you, Adam," Clare said, "for being here for me." A smile crept onto his face as Clare pulled him in for a friendly hug.
"I'll always be here for you, Clare," Adam promised. They pulled away and Adam saw Clare's eyes water again. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I just feel so stupid for letting him manipulate me like that," Clare's voice broke. She instantly turned to Adam. "Oh my god, Adam! I didn't mean to put him down like that. I know he's your friend and-"
"Clare!" Adam cut her off with an amused smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "It's okay. You're my friend too." She nodded. "And for the record, you're not stupid. You were just madly in love and it's totally understandable. Take it from the transgendered idiot who let his girlfriend use him for his body."
Clare looked at Adam's blue eyes. They held a lot of pain and sadness, but hidden beneath all that, she saw rejection. Not just any random rejection, but the rejection of who you are as a person. Clare knew that feeling from seeing Conner struggle under the Shep's rule.
"Adam," Clare whispered. His head turned towards her. "You weren't an idiot; you were just madly in love."
"Stealing my lines again, Edwards?" Adam joked at Clare's use of his quote. She proudly smiled and nodded. "You know, that could be seen as plagiarism?" Clare's mouth dropped at Adam's allusion to a recent note she received from Mrs. Dawes about forgetting to site her sources and possible plagiarism. Adam just laughed heartedly at Clare's expression.
"Well maybe I'll use your quote for a new story I'm working on," Clare said happily.
"Oh? And what might this story be about?" Adam questioned now fully amused.
"It's called Tales of the Used and Manipulated," Clare proudly stated and Adam just laughed.
"So, basically, a nonfiction story about our recent relationships?" Adam questioned Clare. She just laughed at him. "You know nonfiction is for losers right?"
"Hey! I read nonfiction," Clare argued.
"My point exactly!" Adam said jumping up before Clare could slap him. They both laughed. Clare and Adam had forgotten how good it felt to laugh.
In the distance, a bell rang and Clare and Adam shared a look. They were going to be late to class, but they didn't care; this talk was good for both of them and totally worth a tardy.
What they didn't know, was off in the distance, two people sat there listening to their whole conversation. Eli and Fiona now felt totally guilty for putting Clare and Adam through what they did as they watched the two best friends walk through the halls. Eli shut his locker and decided to ditch the rest of class for today. Fiona sat in the Zen garden and let her eyes water at the pain she had caused Adam.
Both Eli and Fiona knew they had wronged the people they cared most about, but didn't know what ot do about it. But both knew they had to fix things. And they would.