Authors Note: Hey guys, I'm really sorry nothing else has been updated, I will try to get to it soon, but I've been rather busy with school. Holidays are coming and I am in a Christmas mood, so I'd like to do a little holiday one shot. I have an idea for a new story but I'm not quite sure if it's going to be the kind of idea that will really take off, so I don't know if I'll write it. Once again, I'm in school, so please bare with me since my other stories will be written slowly. I love you guys and happy early holidays!

And if you have tumblr, shoot me your URL, I need to follow more of my lovely readers and I want more Degrassi on my dash!

Clare's POV:

It had been far too long since I'd seen Eli. He headed off to NYU roughly five months ago for his freshman year. With a perfect GPA and some great recommendation letters Eli had gotten into a theater program and he was minoring in English. He loved NYU, especially since he got to room with Adam. Adam had also gotten in, majoring in biology. Lucky for him the LGBT community was wonderful there, so he had felt perfectly at home.

Anyways, Eli and I had stayed strong together. We called and texted and skyped, even sent each other small things to make the distance easier. Eli was spoiling me with NYU attire and school supplies, while I had been sending him the Degrassi Newspaper, since I had made editor, along with homemade cookies, hats, socks, and Toronto syrup.

But by far, the best gift Eli had sent me was a plane ticket to come see him for Christmas. At first, my mom and Glen weren't thrilled about it. But, Jake had stayed in Canada for community college while Katie had skirted off to Columbia. Her knee had healed and she was recruited to play soccer. Jake had been saying up and he managed to convince his dad and my mom that we would fly to New York together and he would get me to NYU safely before spending the weekend with Katie. Resultantly, they agreed.

"How's the packing?" Jake asked as he stood in the doorway of my room. I smiled at him. Once our parents got married we had managed to become friends once again and I kind of liked having a brother around.

I sighed and tossed my NYU pajamas into my bag, "I'll be done soon, have you finished?"

He shrugged, "Hours ago. I called the airline and made sure our flight was on time. We should head out in about an hour."

I tossed my Christmas sweater in with my socks and smiled, "I can't believe you convinced me to take a red eye. When I told Adam he had to come get us at six I thought he was going to come through the phone and kill me. You know how he likes his rest."

"Just more time he gets to spend with that girl he met. He's spending Christmas with her and her family right?" Jake asked as he sat down on my bed and chuckled at the Santa Socks I packed.

I nodded, "Yeah he's going to drop me at NYU and take you over to Columbia. Crazy how it all worked out right?"

Adam had met a girl at a local grocery store a week after he and Eli arrived at school. She was a sophomore at Columbia, but she was Adam's age. Adam didn't waste much time in asking her out and she seemed really sweet the few times I had seen her on Skype when I was talking with Adam.

Jake shrugged, "I'm glad he found someone, Adam is a cool guy." He got up from the bed, "I'm going to go say goodbye to Mo and Marisol, but be ready by the time I get back?"

I nodded, "Yeah I will be. Jake?" I whispered as he headed out the door of me room.

"Yeah?" He smiled.

"I'm so excited." I squeaked.

He rolled his eyes, "Calm down Edwards." And he chuckled as he shut my door.

"We have to stop by the store really fast." Jake informed me as we pull out of our house in his truck.

"What? Jake we can't! We will miss our flight!" I protest, but he didn't seem to care.

"I just need one thing" He assured me, "Won't take more than a minute."

"Jakeee" I whined, "Whatever you need you can get when we land."

He shook his head, "Katie won't want me shopping for this when she's around, she gets embarrassed."

I bit my bottom lip, "Um what do you need…exactly?"

"You don't need to know." He told me as we pulled into the drug store.

"If you're making us stop for it I do." I insisted as I hopped out of the car.

He rolled his eyes, "Just remember you insisted."

We headed into the store and he headed to the family planning aisle. Crap. Now I know why I didn't need to know. I knew Jake and Katie were intimate, but did he really have to condom shop with me right there? I wasn't jealous or anything, but it was gross to watch your brother grab condoms, knowing that he was getting some this break.

"Jake!" I hissed as he pulled a few boxes off the shelf.

"What?" He smirked, "Do you and Eli need some? You can't tell me that isn't why you're going to see him this break."

"It isn't like that..." I blushed.

"Clare," He shot me a disbelieving look.

"Really," I protested, "We haven't…"

"Are you going to?" He asked, pushing the limits.

"We so can't talk about that." I blushed as I walked back down the aisle and headed to the check out. Eli and I thought about having sex before he left, but he knew I only wanted to because he thought I was doing it just because he was leaving. Partly, he was right. I did want to, but I would have been devastated if we did and he had to go only a few weeks later. So, we agreed to wait until we knew we could survive the distance. But I couldn't tell Jake that, it was too embarrassing.

We didn't speak at check out, or until halfway to the airport, but eventually he broke the silence. "Sorry, I shouldn't have pried, but we can talk about this. I know you aren't going to tell your mom or Alli or Jenna, but you should tell someone."

"We haven't Jake, and we aren't going to." I told him, "Case closed."

Jake rolled his eyes, "Just in case," He handed me a single condom, "Take it okay? It's better if you're safe."

I blushed, "I don't need it, but if it makes you feel better." I took it and tucked it into my jacket, "Thanks."

"And don't be scared Clare. Having sex won't change you."

"Jake stop!" I giggled as he kept trying to steal my neck pillow, "I told you that you should've bought your own!"

"Twenty dollars for a pillow you use once, maybe twice is ridiculous. Besides, that's what my little sister is for?" He tried.

"Leave me alone," I playfully punched his arm.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by the pilot's voice, "Ladies and gentlemen we are beginning our decent into New York City. Thank you for flying Virgin Airlines, we hope you have a wonderful holiday and fly with us again."

"We're almost there!" I squeezed Jake's arm.

"Relax!" He hushed me, "You need to calm down."
"Says the guy who's seen Katie three times since she left. All I've gotten is Skype with Eli." I complained.

"And you'll see him in an hour, so calm the hell down." He told me.

"Jerk." I stuck my tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Okay Adam said he'd be by baggage claim." I told Jake as the two of us tugged our bags off the belt.

"Clare!" I heard a familiar voice call out. I turned around to find Adam smiling at me. He was wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a green sweater.

"Adam!" I smiled at him, running over to give him a hug. As my arms wrapped around him I noticed he was a lot stringer, but he still smelled like Adam, my best friend.

"It's so good to see you." He told me.

"It's so good to see you too!" I smiled and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek, "We should get going though, I want you to have plenty of time with your girl." I told him.

"I promised Hales I'd take her to apology coffee for getting her so early." He confessed.

I smiled at him. He had that look on his face that I hadn't seen since his brief relationship with Becky back in high school. "I'm really happy for you Adam."

"Thanks Clare." He smiled. Jake approached the two of us, carrying our bags, "I hate to rush you guys but Katie is wondering what time we'll be there?"

Adam looking down at his phone, "We should probably get going. Haley and I have a long drive."

I nodded, "I can't wait to see Eli, let's go."

We all headed out to Adam's car. Jake loaded our bags and I hopped into the front seat, playing with the radio.

"You're all he's been talking about since you agreed to come." Adam told me as he began to drive.

I blushed. The rest of the drive wasn't long. We got there in a few minutes, and when Adam pulled up he was about to park and I told him, "Hey you can stop here, I love you, but I kind of want to see Eli alone…" I confessed.

Adam nodded, "Just follow the signs, our dorm is only a minute or so away and if you get lost, ask someone, people are friendly here okay?"

I nodded, "Thanks for the ride Adam, I'll call you soon?"

He nodded, "I've missed you Edwards."

"Be safe!" Jake called out to me as the two of them drove off.

When their car disappeared I took a deep breath of the cool New York air. It felt good here. People looked happy here and I could see what that vibe was Eli kept talking about. This could be home.

I followed Adam's instructions and looked for their dorm. I had seen pictures, so when I saw it, I knew it. Eli was in room 103.

I found the room with surprising ease. Since Adam was gone for the next few days I was glad to know I would be seeing Eli without having to make uncomfortable conversation with someone I didn't know.

With a deep breath I knocked on the door and braced myself for what I would see.

"Hey babe," Before I could take in the familiar face of my boyfriend I was wrapped in his arms, his lips frantically kissing me on the head. I blushed, but giggled into his chest as his lips met every part of my head they could touch.

"Eli!" I squealed, pressing my nose against his chest and taking in his familiar smell. Being in his arms was the best I had felt in months.

"I missed you sweet girl," He whispered to me before pulling back and looking me up and down, "You look beautiful."

"You're not so bad yourself." I replied, before smiling wide, "I missed you so much…"

"Come here," He requested, pulling me back into his arms for a tight squeeze before we separated once again, "How was your flight?"

I sighed, "Jake kept trying to take my pillow, but other than that it was sufficient. I'm so glad I got to see Adam for a bit before coming to see you though, I missed him."

Eli nodded, "But you missed your boyfriend more?"

I rolled my eyes and laughed, "But of course. So what's on the addenda for the night?"

Eli smirked, "I was planning to take you inside and have my way with you"

"Eli!" I playfully punched his shoulder, "I'm serious."

He laughed, "Okay okay, it depends. Are you hungry? Do you want to see the city? Or the campus? Or if you're tired we can just stay in and watch a movie?"

I shrugged, "Staying in sounds nice…I did miss your lips."

His eyes widened, "My little minx…"

"Hush and let me in," I gestured towards his dorm.

"Alright, sorry its small, but it's a dorm." He opened the door and revealed the tiny room. It was probably the size of my closet, but I just couldn't help but smile. Eli and Adam made great roommates. They had up all their band posters and their video games strung all over the floor. I couldn't help but feel kind of at home there.

"I like it." I confessed.

"Do you?" He smirked, venturing close to my side and wrapping an arm around my shoulder, "I missed you," he whispered softly in my ear.

I felt the heat rise to my face, recognizing that tone. I turned into his body and kissed his lips softly, "Why don't you show me?"

His eyes widened with joy, "I'd be happy to."

Our lips connected passionately. Eli's hands gripped my waist and my arms circled around his neck as the two of us found our place tangled on the bed. His body hovered over mine as his tongue forced its way into my mouth. It felt like my entire body was on fire, finally feeling that passion we had lacked for the months we had been physically apart. This was exactly what I needed.

Before we could truly enjoy ourselves, Eli's door opened unexpectantly. I snapped up, Eli being forced to follow. When I got a good look at our intruders I saw a tall girl with dark eyes and long brown hair standing next to a skinner boy with a lengthy tattoo down his arm.

I looked up at them and smiled awkwardly, "Hi"

Eli wrapped an arm around my shoulders and smiled at them, "Hey! Clare this is Jeremy and Taylor, guys this my girlfriend Clare." He smiled proudly before telling me, "We have theater together."

"Oh," I nodded, before sliding out from under Eli's arm and going to shake their hands. Jeremy accepted my offer, but Taylor pulled me into a surpsing hug, "It's so good to finally meet you!" She giggled, "Eli talks about you all the time, we were starting to think you were just a fantasy."

"Really?" I laughed and looked to Eli, who shrugged. He got off of the bed and came over to us, "What can I say?" He smirked, "I couldn't keep you a secret."

I blushed, "I'm flattered."

"What are you guys doing here?" Eli asked, sliding his hand into mine.

"We thought you might want to come get a bite to eat with us, but now that we see you've got some important company we should probably go…?" Jeremy trailed off.

"But," Taylor cut in, "If the two of you wanted to come, we'd love to get to know Clare a little better." She offered, "We've got tons of embarrassing stories about Eli to share!"

"No!" Eli protested, before clearing his throat, "No we do not."

I giggled, "What do you think babe?" I asked him.

"Do you want to go? You'll get to see some of the city, but if you're tired we can stay." He reasoned.

Jeremy cut in, "No pressure, we understand if you guys want some alone time." He wiggled his eyebrows and Taylor slapped his stomach, "Shut up."

"I want to go, if you're sure?" I smiled.

"It'll be fun," Jeremy encouraged.

"Alright, let me get my coat." Eli agreed, "We'll meet you guys out front?"

"Sounds good." They agreed and headed out.

When they left Eli turned to me, "Are you sure you want to go out? If you really don't want to, they will understand."

I shook my head, "Nope, I want to meet your friends…if you want me to?"

"Of course I want you to meet them," He assured, "Let's get you wrapped up in something warm."

As we put on coats I asked, "So are they a couple?"

"Nah, they are just close. Jeremy has a boyfriend out in California and Taylor has never been one for settling down." He told me as he pulled on a coat and gave me one of his NYU sweatshirts and a scarf.

"Ready?" He smiled.

I nodded and kissed him on the cheek, "Hey," I looked at the small Christmas tree in the corner of the room. I hadn't noticed it until now, "You decorated for me?"

"It's not a big deal…" He brushed off, trying to not look at the cute little tree. It was perfect with colored lights and funny ornaments, just how I like it.

"You decorated for me" I insisted, kissing him on the lips thankfully, "I love it."

He shrugged and gave me a kiss, "The things I do for you Edwards…"

"I love you," I told him.

"God, it's been too long since I've heard you say that," He took my hand and led me out the door, "I love you too."

"This city is amazing!" I whispered to Eli as I leaned into his side. Taylor and Jeremy were ahead of us. Snow covered pieces of the ground and the city was lit beautifully. After an amazing meal all I wanted was to head back to the dorms and curl up with Eli in his twin bed.

"I told you it was great here," He smiled at me, squeezing my hand, "Do you think you'll want to come here next year?"

We had talked about it a few times and he swore if I were to chose somewhere besides New York it would be fine. He just wanted me to go where I had wanted, but realistically we both knew we couldn't keep this distance up. It wasn't that our relationship wasn't strong enough; I just missed him too much for him to be so far away for more than a year.

"I've been looking into Columbia and I really liked it. If I get in, I could be happy in New York."

"We could get a place together, well after your freshman year; I think you'll want a year in the dorms." He offered.

"I think that sounds wonderful," I smiled as we headed into the gates of NYU. It wasn't long before we were back in the dorms and Jeremy and Taylor smiled, "We should get going, it was really nice to meet you Clare." Taylor smiled.

"Hang onto her Eli, she's a keeper," Jeremy told my boyfriend.

I blushed, "I'm glad I got to meet some of Eli's friends. Take care of him would you?"

They laughed, "Will do."

"Hey Taylor could you should Clare the girls washroom so she can get into her pajamas?" Eli asked. Since we weren't sleeping together yet I wasn't ready for Eli to see me without my clothes on. He always seemed to respect that.

"Sure," She smiled, "I'd be happy to."

I smiled and disappeared into Eli's room, grabbing my pajamas and coming back out to meet Taylor, "Okay, ready."

The two of us made our way down the hall, making casual conversation. She told me about how she met Eli and Jeremy at their introduction to the theater program and they all just hit it off. The more I talked to her the more I was glad Eli was making good friends here. She was really sweet.

Soon we headed back to Eli's room and I gave her a hug goodbye before pulling Eli's door open. When I pulled open the door my mouth practically dropped. The small dorm had changed into a cozy Christmas paradise. Eli was playing with the radio, turning up what sounded like Christmas music. The tree was lit. The lights were off, but Eli had lit cinnamon candles and pulled out a vase of poinsettias. "Eli…" I bit my bottom lip and sauntered over to him.

Eli was dressed in black sweats and a white tee shirt, while I was wearing my maroon sweats and a black tank top. "You look sexy in your PJs." He chuckled, taking both my hands and kissing me softly on the lips.

"You did this all for me?" I looked around the beautiful room.

He nodded, "I know you're used to all this Christmas hoop-la and I'm sure being in a dorm for Christmas wouldn't be your first choice, so I thought I'd try to make it a bit more festive."

"It's perfect." I whispered, stepping closer to him so my hands could cup his face as I kissed him softly.

"How do you feel about a Christmas movie?" He offered, sliding his hands down my hips and rubbing soft circles.

"Depends, is it a horror film?" I smirked at him.

"No crazy girl." Eli chuckled before scooping me up in his arms suddenly.

"Eli!" I giggled as he carried me to the bed. He rolled his eyes and lowered me onto the soft mattress, "Get comfortable, I'll put the movie in."

I smiled and got under his soft sheets. They smelled like him and it was nice. Eli popped in a movie and grabbed the remote before heading to the bed.

"Scoot over blue," He insisted and I moved a bit. The bed was only a twin, so Eli smiled sheepishly as the two of us crammed in it.

"I'm sorry," He told me, "I could always push Adam's bed next to this one if it would be more comfortable?"

As sweet as it was for him to offer, I liked the closeness this bed allowed us, it was cozy.

"No," I told him before resting my head on his chest and folding into his side, "This is perfect."

"I was hoping you would say that," He kissed the top of my head and started the movie.

When the title came on the screen I smiled, "Home Alone".

"Eli, how did you know?" I asked him.

"Shhh," He chuckled, "Just enjoy."

I had been spoiled. Eli had decorated, he had taken me to dinner, he had picked out one of my favorite movies, and now? He was placing feather light kisses down my neck and reaffirming how much he had missed me and loved me. I could barley hold my composure with all of this flattery, but it did mean a lot to hear he had missed me as I had missed him.

"You're distracting me," I blushed.

He chuckled against my crystal skin, "That's the goal Edwards."

The feeling of his hot breath against my neck sent shivers up my spine. I loved this boy. I was about to say something before the expression on Eli's face changed to more serious.

"Hey Clare?" He asked softly.

"Yeah?" I smiled.

"When you came back from the bathroom and tucked your clothes away, I don't think you noticed, but you dropped something." He told me.

I wondered why he didn't say anything earlier until I realized exactly what he was talking about. My eyes went wide with embarrassment, "Oh…"

He nodded, "Look at me," He requested softly, and I did as he asked, "Are you ready for that?"

"Eli that was Jake's, he just insisted I took it. I considered it, but," I hung my head a bit, embarrassed to tell him the truth.

He squeezed my hand, "It's okay Clare, talk to me."

I sighed, "I want to Eli, I do, but I just don't think I'm ready for that. I love you and I want us to be able to experience that physically, but Eli I just…I can't."

"It's okay," He nodded, giving me a soft kiss on the cheek, "It doesn't change a thing. Sex is a big deal, and if you want to wait, wait we shall. I'm not in this for that." He assured, rubbing my back softly.

I looked up at Eli and smiled, knowing that what he was saying was true. His eyes reflected that.

Before I could express to him how grateful I was, he asked, "How about I give you your present a bit early?"

"Christmas is tomorrow Eli, shouldn't we wait?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Don't worry I have a few other things for tomorrow, but haven't your parents ever let you open just one early?"

I had heard of this before, but my parents were too pedantic for that. They had always liked structure.

"Not really." I confessed.

He shrugged, "Well then it's time to try something new. Just one?"

"Alright…" I smiled, "Hang on, I have one for you too, but the other ones have to wait."

"That's my girl." He chuckled in victory as the two of us went to separate corners to retrieve our gifts.

I dug around my bag until I found a small box wrapped with silver paper and a black bow.

"For my princess," Eli smiled, handing me a rectangular box wrapped in blue sparkly paper with a silver box.

"This is totally cheating the system, but for you," I handed over the box.

Eli went first, unwrapping the box. He pulled out a leather bound copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Eli had told me countless times about how he found it in a bookstore once and walked away. It was one of his favorite books.

"Clare!" He wrapped his arms around me, "I can't believe you remembered this!"

I smiled at him and hugged him tightly, "How could I have forgotten? You talked about it for months on end. But open it up, there's more."

Eli slowly opened the book and found a leather bookmark that had, "Even when we are far apart you'll always be in my heart- Love Always, Clare" stitched into it in blue string.

"I know it's a bit cheesy, but Jake helped me and I wanted to personalize it." I told him.

Eli shook his head, "No, it's perfect. I love it Clare." He kissed me softly before instructing, "Well you've already shown me up, but open yours please."

I nodded and pulled open the package with excitement. When I got the paper off, a red velvet box was revealed. I opened up the box and couldn't help but let out a slight gasp.

"You won." I whispered as I pulled out the hexagon gold locket. It had a beautiful looped border surrounding the inside of the edges and in the center was breathtaking emerald.

"Eli I- " I was slightly stunned, "It's perfect."

He smiled, "Here" He took the necklace from its case and helped me to hook it around my neck. The necklace settled right above my cleavage and Eli smiled, "It looks beautiful Clare."

"Eli I love it, it's so beautiful," I kissed him soundly, "I'm never going to take it off."

"Maybe in the shower?" He chuckled.

I rolled my eyes, "Must you be so sarcastic?"

He nodded, "It's one of my many gifts."

"Well I love you, even the sarcastic part." I told him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He smirked at me, "Hey, you're forgetting one thing."

"What?" I asked, slightly confused.

Eli looked up at his ceiling, to which I looked up. Hanging from his ceiling was a small strand of mistletoe. This was such an Eli move, I could hardly be surprised.

"Eli!"

"What? You wanted decorations!" He chuckled, "Just kiss me Edwards."

I rolled my eyes, but connected our lips, smiling at our first mistletoe kiss.

Okay so the ending was cheesy, but I wanted to put up something…Happy thanksgiving, guys I'm so thankfully to have wonderful reviewers.

(I know there are spelling errors, but my spell-check was being a butt)

Please do review and let me know what you thought and also if there is anything you want to see in Her Secret Admirer or Midnight Love, let me know.

Love you all!