- Aftermath -
The shuffles of her flats down the hall were silent as Eli popped in the ear buds of his iPod into his ears. The clank of the plastic on the tiled floor was like softly hammering into a brick wall. Clare tried to run as fast as her pulse, but her feet only sped so fast. She ran into a hallway and, in a panic, looked both ways for a sight of his red blazer. A gleam reflected of the jacket. She sighed in brief relief at the scene of him casually leaning against a locker, gazing into space. She could only guess what he was thinking. Her hair bounced rapidly as she raced toward him before Fitz could. Her heart pounded heat all the way up her throat, choking down the worry she couldn't let Eli see.
Eli's stare rested on a wall in front of him. But what he saw was far from just a wall. His thoughts flicked from his memory of excitement of going to the dance with Clare to seeing Fits with his eyes all over her. The vile things going through Fitz's made Eli's blood boil. He focused on the music, loud, blocking out the world that only seemed to want to swallow the most precious things he had. No, that wasn't right. The world wasn't the one who placed mistakes in his life. He was. He kicked the locker behind his leg as he banged his head against the top one.
He still did not hear her as she slid to a stop in front of him, only noticing her when she ripped the plugs out.
Clare's eyes bulged and looked twice the size of their normal circumference. The blue looking soft and innocent even in this frightened set. She took his wrists, but quickly let them go.
"Come with me, Fitz has a knife." She said in a tone she hadn't anticipated. Her voice was shaky, but still calm. She could hear the heart beat in her ears, reminding her to keep her guard up. She looked both ways of the hall again; making sure the boy wasn't close.
Eli showed no reaction but slight hesitation, absorbing the information. He licked his lips, but didn't answer. The news surprised him, but he couldn't back down. This was a war he didn't start, but one he would finish. "This is where we run. Let's go." Clare insisted, her eyes widening even more, grabbing his wrists again, attempting to drag him out of the building if she had to.
"I'm not gonna let that jerk scare me." He replied with no hesitation this time. Looking into Clare's eyes, he saw how ridiculous she thought of him. He could run with her. But Fitz would eventually come back, and Eli couldn't give him the advantage to prepare a comeback. He had to face him now, or he'll be back with a stronger punch.
"Eli, he has a knife- "
"Awe, don't you two look cute?" Fitz yelled down the hall. His silent chuckle floated around, taunting Eli.
Clare's brow scrunched, worry lined on her lips. Her breath quickened as her heart rate reach a new high. She wanted to grab Eli's hand and run for it, maybe they could get away. But the doors were all locked behind them. The only other way out was walking toward Fitz and back to the dance.
Eli bit the inside of his lip and turned. His jaw tightening at the bastard's voice. His fists were tight. Everything loosened at the sight of the glimmer the both of them focused on.
Fitz slowly walked toward them, each step thundering in Clare's head, making her wince each time he came closer. Each of them took a step back as he advanced, but a locked exit was only a few feet away.
"You should go." Clare said in a thick voice, on the verge of tears. She had forgotten whether she meant it for Fitz or Eli, but Fitz answered anyway.
"And let pretty boy make time with my date?" He flashed an evil smile. He meant it for Clare, but never took his eyes off Eli. The knife shined between the both, poorly aiming for its target. Clare only thought it was her fault. If she hadn't agreed, would this have happened?
"Please, Fits, don't do this." She tried.
"Shut up, bitch!" He screamed, craning his neck down to her. He had suddenly been much closer than before. The sound of his echo made Clare jump. This made Eli's jaw tighten back up, but he had to be nice to Fitz. He was the one with the weapon.
It had sunken in that Eli's life was in danger. It was no longer a game. In a matter of seconds, he could be dead.
Eli reached for Clare's arm and told her to go in a way that sounded much ruder than he meant it. He gave her a glance that lasted for what felt like minutes. She tried to get his hand, to keep him close before she could lose him, but he had already slipped away. She never looked away as he turned his gaze toward Fitz.
She walked backwards from the scene; she could feel herself toppling over. She throat tightened and she had her hands on her stomach to keep herself together for Eli. She hit a wall and could only watch helplessly as she realized she loved him. And Fitz was going to take that away from her.
In the same second, she also realized how Eli never forgave himself for "killing" Julie. Although she had known it wasn't his fault, she knew how he felt now. If she had just said no, this wouldn't be happening.
"Look," Eli began, "I'm sorry about before." – this was my fault – he thought simultaneously – I could have just said sorry and be done with it. "About everything."He admitted. This time, he meant it. Now, if Fitz did his deed, would he look to Clare for more? "You win." He submitted.
"Yeah, I've heard that before." Fitz replied tauntingly. He pushed Eli further into the quickly shortening hallway. And pushed him again.
Clare walked meekly forward, but came up empty with a plan.
"Stop, I'm serious." Eli warned, but he had nothing to back him up. What could he do in this position to show his sincerity? Just like Clare, he had nothing.
He glanced at Clare, crying in the opposite corner of him. His insides were torn apart as he saw a hurt much similar to his own.
"So am I." Fitz returned with another shove. "You've had this coming for a while."
Eli knew he had. The constant back-and-forth between them seemed ridiculous now. Childish in a way that he couldn't believe he stooped to. But what made this fair? What was ever fair?
"What's wrong, emo boy?" Fitz yelled in Eli's face. The label used to irritate him, but now it was only a name. "No more smart-ass comments?"
If Eli was terrified right now, he probably wouldn't have even been able to think of any. He was now cornered, no running, no dodging. He had to face the music – or in this case, possible death. All he had were his words now. Which, at the moment, wouldn't come out very smooth.
He saw that there was no way out of this, and Fitz would not be convinced. A tear escaped without Eli's permission and slid down to his neck. "Please." He begged, his voice breaking a bit, "Don't do this." He couldn't look away from Fitz. He was so close, that he was all he could see.
He couldn't even get a last glance at Clare. Her fair auburn curls that bounce when she shakes her head at one of his comments. Her flawless skin that was paler than his own, despite his efforts at keeps out of the sun and covering up most of his flesh. Her naturally pink lips that he got to touch with his own. Her laugh at his sarcasm. And most of all her blue eyes that he was stunned by the first time they met. It could only be from his memory.
"Someones gotta shut you up." Fitz said quieter than all his other statements, but harsher. He lifted his arm with the knife and thrust forward.
Clare screamed in protest and fear, reaching towards them as his she could stop the knife from going any further.
Eli sucked in his stomach to keep away from the blade and attempted blocking with his hands like he could catch it in time. He yelped in horror as the knife came eat him. Shock set in and he was too scared to react. His face dropped, as did his body, to the floor. His heart sunk even deeper into his stomach.
Clare ran toward him as Fitz stepped back and smiled at his production – or rather destruction.
She put her hands on his shoulder and leg as she tried to inspect the wound. But there was none to be found. She saw him look up at the knife jabbed in the wall that was to his right. She look at his face and breathed heavily.
Eli felt completely sick and held only the floor as if he would tip over if he didn't have a secure hold. Even in his attempt, he didn't have much of a grasp at all with his finger tips only brushed the tile. He looked at Clare, but couldn't even comprehend what the hell just happened.
"Don't worry; you can bleach out urine stains." Fitz laughed in a cruel humor.
Cops burst in a took Fitz away. He lifted his hands in surrender.
Eli stayed on the floor, silenced. He was just about dead a minute ago. And now it was a big joke. He could have been dead right now. But he supposed he preferred this in a twisted way. It didn't matter how much he and Fitz hated each other, this was way too far.
Clare could only try to breathe evenly again. Breath for Eli, as it seemed he couldn't.
Eli and Clare walked out of the school together. Eli had found his voice and breath, and felt less sick.
"When I as nine, there was this kid Mike. Beating me up was his hobby." He explained his childhood to her as to why he is the way he is.
"You aren't nine anymore." She countered, not understanding.
"Yeah, well niether are the boys. So what am I supposed to do?" He said sharper than he meant it.
They watched Fitz get escorted to the police car, staring down Eli. His stare was somehow less menacing than in the hallway.
"I don't have the answer." She began sounding like she was in some sort of pain, "But is this is it... " She had to get it out. "I can't be with you." She gazed at Eli with eyes that wanted to say sorry and this isn't what I want, just what I have to do, but instead gave him a hard look.
He didn't have time to answer, not that he had one. The words were hard to grasp. But he undestood, and wouldn't let them hurt him. He heard Simpson something, but he paid no attention. He could only think about how much had changed because of his mistakes. Fitz had been arrested again, he had almost been killed, and Clare just left him. The only way to find any happiness now, was to change all of this even more. He would have to change for the greater good. But he was never a fan of that. He always was this way. How could he be someone he didn't have any knowledge of?
Clare explaned that she set off the stink bomb, and he turned around to jump in the take responsibility as well. He said Fitz tried to teach me a lesson, but that was a veuy big understatement.
After a deserved lecture, Simpson finally said "There are going to be some changes around here. Big changes. When you all get back from break... you won't even recognize the school anymore."
And it was all Eli's fault. For the love of this game he grew up playing. The aftermath of all of the things he had done was about to change in ways he could never predict.
The battle is back on.