A/N: In this story Clare is slightly ooc, but just a little bit. Adam is not a trans-gender in this story. Adam and Eli are cousins, and Clare and Eli have not met yet. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi, or any of its characters. But I do own a stuffed pony named moof moof.

Chapter 1 - I Think we Have an Emergency

Clare's P.O.V

It is becoming unbearable. The teasing and the taunting daily. It has gone overboard to the point that I might just burst into flames at any given moment one of these days. I cried walking home from school today. I fucking cried because of those cunts who make my life a living hell. As if it weren't already bad enough without them making it worse. People starred at me as I wailed, but I didn't care. I couldn't take it anymore. Why do they persistently pick and pick and pick on me? They even told me to kill myself once. They wanted a fucking noose around my neck. That hurts. The fact that it's still possible for human beings to be this horrible towards one another for no good reason hurts.

All day today they called me an ugly emo cry baby. Or anything they could think of. Every little thing I did they criticized. I know that doesn't sound bad, but you should see what it is like. To be teased and taunted.

Every single day of your existence.

It has been going on for months and months. And one day, I will snap. I can feel it building up. And when I do after one motherfucker pushes me over the edge, I am not going to be held responsible for my actions.

I walked inside of my house after unlocking the door, putting my coat on the coat hanger. I was making my way up the stairs, when I was suddenly interrupted.

"Come here Clareeeeeeeee," slurred my father.

"Randall, you're drunk again." I stated firmly, backing away in fear. He had promised. He promised me ever since the day my mom left us that he wouldn't get like this again.

He moved forward, and I staggered back hitting the back of my knee hard against the coffee table. I hissed in pain.

"Stay away from me," I said in a strained weak voice.

He responded by doing the opposite, and was now hovering over my face. I could smell the faint smell of alcohol that lingered on his breath.

"Maybe this will teach you a lesson, to stop sneaking around like your slut of a mother did before she left." he said, still obviously heavily drunk as he held on to the armrest of the couch to stable himself.

My eyes widened in shock. Me? Sneak around? Nobody liked me. Nobody ever did. I was the pudgy cry baby with emotional problems that no one ever understood. People avoided me like the plague. My only friend, and best friend was named Adam Torres. And even then he was like a brother to me. Even if I wanted to I couldn't sneak around.

"I-" I barely had time to respond as I felt a hard fist connect with the left side of my jaw. I heard a cracking sound and stumbled back in pain. Then another fist landed hard to my pale skin, colliding with my right eye.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" I screamed in anguish, putting my face in my hands.

"Shut the fuck up Clare, you're making this harder than it needs to be!" yelled Randall, grabbing me roughly by the shoulders and throwing me against the wall across the room.

After my head hit the wall with a satisfying 'thud', I slid to the ground slowly as I felt the blood rushing down my head.

I was out cold.

A few hours later I woke up in the same spot I had passed out in. I felt light headed as I tried to lift my head up. Probably from loosing all that blood. I looked around and Randall was no where in sight. I sighed in relief. He must have went out or something.

I went upstairs to my room, and saw that it was 8 PM. I heard something buzzing nosily on the table by my bedside. I smiled, and picked up the phone.

"Hey Adam? What's up?" I asked in an artificial cheery voice. I couldn't make him worry again, not now. He was already suspended from school for getting into numerous fights defending me from Jenna and her group of friends.

"Nothing really, just hanging out with my cousin Eli. Why didn't you pick up before? I called you like 10 times at 6 O' Clock."

"Um...I um was busy." I lied easily.

"Clare, you're a horrible liar."

I gulped. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Just know that whatever it is, I will eventually find out Edwards. These walls have ears."

I rolled my eyes. I wish. Maybe then someone would hear me when I screamed.

"Who's Eli?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"He's my cousin. He just moved to Toronto last week and he's starting his first day of Degrassi tomorrow. He's in grade 11. Of course he wont no anyone there since I'm suspended."

"I'm so sorry Adam, you didn't have to jump into the fight!" I apologized for what was probably like the 100th time.

"And let those bullies beat the daylights out of you? Yeah, right. Anyways me, you, and Eli were suppose to hangout today. That's why I called to ask if you wanted to come over but you never picked up."

"I'm sorry about that. Listen, I'll make it up to you guys. We can all hang out tomorrow after school." I suggested.

"Sounds great, listen I gotta go. Talk to you later Clare Bear."

I rolled eyes yet again. He knew I hated that nickname. "Later Adam."

I hung up the phone and lazily threw my self in bed. I slept without any interruption until the next morning.

The next day I was walking down the halls of Degrassi, with huge dark sunglasses on like those models wore in those vogue magazines, along with a scarf that I pulled up all the way to my chin. I didn't want anyone to know about the bruises I got from my father last night. Since I barely wore any other makeup than the occasional eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss I had no other makeup to cover them up.

Besides, I've seen what happens in those movies. Whoever found out what my father does to me would get the police involved and then the government would try to take me away from him. I actually loved my father, and I knew that what he did last night was out of pure drunkenness. When he was sober he was the most perfect father any girl could ever ask for. He didn't judge me for not having any friends, or not going out much.

He was one of the only people left that I could trust.

Him and Adam.

I cringed at the name. I could only imagine what he would do if he found out my father was abusing me again. He already got suspended and couldn't come to school until tomorrow for defending me by punching Jenna Middleton in the face once, which I thought was overreacting.

So there was no way he could know about this and let it go without doing anything drastic about it.

I rounded the corner of the hallway. I was on my way to my locker, when I froze. I was stopped by Jenna, who was blocking it. I looked around frantically. The halls were currently empty since it was lunch time and everyone else had gone outside for lunch.

Jenna wasn't alone. The rest of her crew was there too, smirking at me with glints of evil in their eyes. Her crew consisted of Bianca DeSousa, Alli Bhandhari, Mark Fitzgerald, Owen, and K.C Gurthrie.

I turned to make a run for it when Alli grabbed the end of my scarf, pulling it off in the process. I hit the ground with a hard thud.

"Awwww, did the wittle baby get hurt?" asked Bianca as she walked up to me. Everyone except for me laughed.

"I see little Adam isn't here to protect you now." she continued.

"What's with the shades anyways? Its not even sunny today." said Jenna. She bent down and ripped them off my face. They hit the ground, breaking into different parts.

Everyone around gasped at my black eye.

"Woahhhh," laughed Fitz. "Did you get hit by a bus?"

I wish I did. Dying would have been 10 times better than being here, in this situation, at this very moment.

"I wish," I muttered miserably.

"Well, you know what they say. Snitches get stitches." said Jenna.

I looked around confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb Edwards! We know you're the one that ratted us out for pranking that substitute teacher."

My jaw hung open. It was as if nowadays these people would come up with any reason just to hurt me. I had no idea any of that had happened until they told me just now.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said calmly.

I wheezed in pain, clutching my sides as the strong impact of a kick reached my stomach. I looked up in terror to meet the cold blue narrowed eyes of Jenna Middleton.

"I don't like being lied to, Edwards," she said icily.

I looked up at everyone with a pained expression. These people frightened me and filled me up with so much terror.

In that moment I realized that I had gotten used to this kind of pain by now. It was the kind of pain I endured daily for being how I am. For being ugly, boring, insignificant, vulnerable, etc. I'd come to realize that if I wasn't so harsh on the eyes, people wouldn't have to look at something so gruesome everyday. And if I wasn't here alive taking up everyones breathing space, I wouldn't be in people's ways anymore. So that's why I let them beat up, pick on, and abuse me everyday. I was weak, and tired of fighting.

Since I was so numb from the beatings I already got at home from my alcoholic father, I could barely feel the sting of the pain anymore. I only felt exhilaration and had an adrenaline rush.

There were a few more kicks, slaps, and punches thrown at me, until finally the bell signaling it was time for the next class rang. The gang dispersed, going their separate ways to class. I reluctantly got up, and made my way to my advanced placement English class. I was only a 10th grader, but was recommended for this class with 11th graders because of my academic achievements.

Another reason people hated me. They thought I was a goody two shoes know it all.

I winced in pain the whole time, every step I took hurt, as I made the gruesome long walk to class. When I arrived to class I took my usual seat all the way at the back, to remove attention from myself. I put my face in my hands to hide the new and old scars and bruises I had received in the span of the past two days.

All of the sudden the door to the class was pushed open. I looked up for just a brief second, and in walked the most breathtakingly handsome boy that had ever walked the face of the planet Earth.

After getting a glimpse of him I looked back down immediately, hiding my face in my hands again.

"Class, this is our new student, Elijah Goldsworthy." announced Mrs Dawes .

Elijah? As in Adams cousin Eli?

"Eli," he corrected casually.

I was taken aback by the smooth roughness of his voice.

A chorus of 'hi's and hey's' echoed the room.

"Eli, you can take a seat in front of Clare Edwards. Clare please raise your hand."'

All eyes in the classroom immediately shot towards me. I timidly raised one hand, still looking down, the other one shielding my face from the world.

"Clare, are you okay?" asked Mrs Dawes.

Everyone in the class snickered.

"Clare, is there something wrong?" she asked again in a worried voice, walking up to me. When I didn't respond, she grabbed my hand and pried it off of my face.

I heard loud gasp fill the room. People began to quickly whisper amongst themselves.

"Oh my..." began Mrs Dawes, taking in my appearance.

I met Eli's eyes at the front of the room for a brief second. He looked horrified, and confused, like everyone else in the classroom. At the same time he looked knowing, as if some theory he had already thought of had just been confirmed.

"I-I can't take it anymore!" I yelled, bursting into tears.

I tore from my seat and ran out of that classroom. I ran down the halls of Degrassi High School, and out the front doors. I ran and ran and ran. I ran past my house. I wasn't sure where to go anymore. I couldn't go home because then I would have to face my father and he'd question me.

So I finally decided to go to The Dot.

So there you have it, the first chapter of ADCL. Reviews and constructive criticism are highly welcome and appreciated. (: