Clare was standing in the Kitchen of the condo her parent's shared. She was in the middle of a discussion with her mother. Apparently, there was some trip to visit long lost relatives in Michigan. Let's just say it was a 5-hour trip she would rather not take, much less spend four days without her boyfriend Eli.

"Mom, I just don't know why I have to go. I haven't even seen them since I was like what, five? Besides, WE already had Thanksgiving"

"Clare," her mom began, obviously sounding annoyed, "They graciously opened their house to us for Thanksgiving, how could I turn them down? Besides, its at a different time there." Helen has always been the civil one. She never wanted to upset anyone, or at least her distant family.

"But mom, I cannot just leave Eli—"

"Clare Diane Edwards, your life does not revolve around that… boy," Helen said, stomping her foot. Clare hated when her mom got like this. Her mom always seemed to have the motto, "It's my way or no way," and Clare found it to get rather annoying.

"Besides mom, It's dad's weekend, couldn't I stay here? I mean, you can still go to Michigan, and send everyone my love."

Helen's face seemed to freeze. Clare couldn't tell if this was because of what she just said, but she knew it couldn't be good. After what felt like an eternity, she finally spoke up, "Clare, your father has a business meeting, Darcy is in Africa, YOU ARE COMING WITH ME TO MICHIGAN AND THAT IS FINAL."

Clare stomped away, knowing full well that it was no longer worth fighting with her mom. She couldn't get out of this trip, so she carried herself to her room to begin packing.

Once Clare got to her room, her cell phone started to light up. She noticed right away from the ringtone that it was her Eli. She ran as fast as she could to her bed, rolling over to grab the phone. "How did you know that I was in my room right then?"

"Just an intuition I guess," Eli responded, Clare hearing the smirk in his face.

"Uhm Eli?" Clare began, nervously, "I uh… uh… I—"

"Clare, do you need me to come pick you up," Sounding nervous.

Clare let out the breath she was holding in. "I would love that Eli, I'll meet you outside in say, 5?"

"Sure thing," Eli said, still with a hint of nervousness in his voice, then hanging up.

Clare quickly freshened up, wanting to look good for Eli. She knew he didn't care, but she loved to take the time to show that she herself cared enough. She bolted down the stairs, and quickly explained to her mom that she would be out for a bit with Eli. At her mother's eye roll she simply stated, "I have to tell him about your Thanksgiving plans." With that, Clare ran out the door and waited on the porch.

After about a minute she could hear the roar of Morty's engine. Her heart started to skip; she knew full well that within minutes she would be in the arms of her knight and shining armor. Eli pulled into the driveway, and once he left Morty he ran to Clare, partially to have her in his arms and partially to make sure she was ok. Clare could feel everything melt away the moment that Eli had his arms around her. This was safety for her. It was stability. It was how she knew that everything would be ok. In his arms, nothing mattered, nothing at all.

She didn't want to let go. If she could, she would freeze this exact moment. Eli had his arms around her, she was unusually warm in the cold, frigid environment. But, she knew she had too. She pulled back quickly and just wanted to spit it out.

"Eli… my mom is making me go to Michigan for the weekend." This was when she pulled back into his warmth, not wanting to hear his response, but instead, she found herself crying into his chest.