She's late again, I knew I shouldn't have put my trust in her, Katie Matlin thought to herself as she looked at the clock for the fifth time within the past thirty seconds. She was getting more and more impatient as the time passed. Clare Edwards was so unreliable. Katie knew she had made a mistake offering Clare a spot on the school newspaper. This was Katie's baby. There was no room for failure, or slackers for that matter. Clare Edwards was supposed to send in her piece on the school play half an hour ago.
Little did Clare know, Katie had seen her making out with her boyfriend Eli in his car in front of the school about twenty minutes ago. It did not look like either of them had any intentions on stopping. Katie had seen Eli around Degrassi, he seemed like a nice enough guy and she was willing to admit (only to her bff Marisol, of course) that she thought he was attractive. They had three classes together and they would occasionally exchange polite smiles, but nothing more. She had heard some crazy rumours about him involving a dead ex-girlfriend last semester so she usually steered clear from him.
When Katie heard a tap on the newspaper room door, she was prepared to confront Clare about being late. But as she got up from where she was sitting and curtly said, "I thought I made myself clear-" she stopped midsentence because when she turned around, she found herself staring into two of the greenest eyes she had ever seen. None other than the infamous Eli Goldsworthy was standing not too far away from her, with a solemn look on his face.
"Katie, right? I don't think we've formally met. I'm Eli, Clare's boyfriend. Clare got held up because of some family issues so I took the liberty of writing her piece instead. I hope it's not too much of an inconvenience. I hate to brag but I'm not the worst writer around. I assure you it's well written."
He was holding out a neatly typed article for her to take, all the while maintaining that intense stare. Katie was so overwhelmed by the situation she didn't even process the fact that he was lying to her face; she had seen him sticking his tongue down Clare's throat less than half an hour ago. But right now, that all seemed irrelevant.
She reached for the paper and their fingers brushed for a nanosecond, but it was enough to make them both a little uncomfortable. Eli stepped back and cleared his throat, looking around the room, "So, do you spend a lot of time in here? It seems calming, having a place in this hell hole to escape to. You're quite lucky."
Her breath hitched as she tried to regain her composure. Katie was confused as to why this boy was having some sort of affect on her. It's not like she was interested in him, or was she? She didn't know. She had never had a boyfriend and the only time she ever kissed one was during a game of truth or dare. That didn't really count as experience. Besides, she found dating in high school so trivial. Why bother with getting wrapped up in a relationship when you're so young if it's not going to last anyways and you just end up getting hurt in the end? It wasn't worth it.
Katie wasn't sure she even knew how to be in a relationship. She was always so focused on sports and schoolwork; did she have time to fit a boyfriend into her busy schedule?
Eli coughed, bringing Katie back to reality. She blushed when she realized she had zoned out staring into his eyes.
She straightened herself and walked over to her desk to set down the article, "Right, well... Please let Clare know I'm sorry for whatever family issue she's dealing with right now but in the future I'm going to need more warning in advance. I can't have amateurs whose writing skills I'm not aware of handing things in. This won't become a regular thing, am I clear?"
"Crystal. By the way, I'm no amateur. You should know that, we have three classes together," Eli gave her an amused glance before rolling his eyes and making his way towards the door. Katie was shocked he noticed the amount of classes they had in common, maybe he wasn't as awful as she thought.
"Wait, Eli. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lash out on you. It's just that I have to edit tomorrow's entire paper, which should have been done an hour ago. I'm a little stressed, is all."
Eli's hard gaze softened as he took two steps in her direction. He let out a deep sigh and nodded before an amused look appeared on his face, "I'll accept your apology on one condition: you let me stay and help you edit the paper."
She eyed him warily, unsure on what to do. On one hand, this was completely inappropriate on so many levels. Katie never accepted outside help, it was unethical and she didn't want to jeopardize this issue of the Degrassi Daily. But on the other hand, she had to be realistic and face the fact that she would never be done on time to have it published for tomorrow.
Also, Eli was right. Katie did know what an amazing writer he was. She didn't doubt it for a second that he could help her. The problem was that she had a tough time trusting others. She still hadn't made up her mind when Eli softly said, "Come on Katie, you can trust me. I won't let you down."
After thirty seconds of inner conflict, she reluctantly agreed. She showed him what to do and they split up the work evenly. Katie was used to being alone and working in silence so the little chitchat Eli was encouraging was surprisingly a nice change. Katie found herself sharing stories of newspaper mishaps that she would normally be embarrassed by. For some odd reason, talking to Eli made her feel comfortable. She was smiling and giggling when Eli read out the sports article Drew Torres had attempted to write. She quickly explained that Drew had been desperate to join any school club for extra credit and she only gave him a chance because he had a crush on her.
Upon hearing this news, Eli looked up from his work, "So what, you don't feel the same way about him? Drew's a total catch! I mean just look at his writing, it basically speaks for itself." Eli winked at her, making her body shiver.
Her voice was quiet, more subdued than before, "I, um, don't believe in dating in high school" Eli raised his eyebrows as she continued, "If I'm going to open myself up to someone, I want to know I can completely count on them. If I'm not going to be with someone for the rest of my life I don't really see the point. There are more important things to worry about anyway."
The mood in the room changed, tension filled the air and they both felt it. Katie starting blushing furiously and apologized for darkening the mood but before she could finish blubbering on about everyone being entitled to their own opinion Eli stopped her.
"No, don't apologize, you're right. What's the point of being with someone if you're not positive they will want to be with you forever? I totally get it."
Their eyes locked from across the room and for the first time in a long time, Katie felt like someone understood her. She wasn't sure how long they stayed looking at each other like that but the trance was broken when some god awful noise started playing in Eli's pocket.
It turned out to be the ringtone on his cell and once he answered the call, the tone of his voice changed from light hearted to stressed in a matter of seconds. He hung up and explained that it had been Clare on the other line, she was upset and needed him to come over for support.
Katie looked at the time and was stunned upon discovering that an entire hour had passed. She had completely forgotten about Clare during her time with Eli. She hated to admit that she had allowed herself to think for even a second that Eli was there for reasons other than to help clean up his girlfriend's mess.
"You better go to her, she needs you. Clare's lucky to have a boyfriend like you. I can finish up the rest of the editing on my own, thanks for your help. I owe you," She curtly said before standing to shake his hand.
Eli placed his hand in hers and gave it a warm squeeze, "Yeah, you do," she gasped and they held on for a second longer than was necessary. Katie was the one to break the connection. She awkwardly said goodbye before turning back towards her desk.
"See you tomorrow in history, Matlin. I'll save you a seat," Eli said before smirking and walking out of the newsroom.
Katie threw herself onto her chair and let out a loud groan when the realization hit her: whether she wanted to or not, she was developing a crush on Eli Goldsworthy.