This is my first story so I am a little nervous about publishing it.

PLEASE tell me what you think of it! REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi or any of the characters! Although I wish I did!

Clare's POV

I sighed as I walked through the entrance of Degrassi. I need to find Alli and ask her if our plan to go to The Dot after school was still on. As I got out my phone to text Alli, I bumped into someone.

"Ow!" I said as I rubbed her head. "I'm so sor-," I mumbled, stopping mid-sentence after seeing who it was.

There stood KC Guthrie, my ex boyfriend, and his new girlfriend/ my ex friend, Jenna Middleton. They just kept walking, not even acknowledging my existence. Then again, I would not expect anything different from those two.

It wasn't that I still liked KC. That was definitely not the case! It just wasn't fair that they got to be happy while I was dealing with everything going on in my life. He was an amazing football player, while she was the star of the Power Squad. Such a cliché high school couple!

Meanwhile, I was dealing with the pain of my parents fighting. Sometimes, I wished they would just get a divorce and be done with it! But since they were Catholic and divorce was frowned upon in the church, they tried their best to "stay together."

I shook my head at the thought of going home after school to deal with my parents arguing. I do not think I could handle another second of the screaming without going insane with anger!

After bumping into the happy couple, I almost for got that I had to text Alli. I opened my phone and typed:

"Hey! Are we still on for after school?"

I sent the text and shoved my phone back in my bag. Ever since Alli had been going out with Drew, we haven't spent a lot of time together. Her and Drew were always off somewhere, making out. Then again, if it made Alli happy, she deserved it. After everything she went through with Johnny, she needed someone who made her happy.

I felt my phone vibrate in my bag and pulled it out. It was a reply from Alli.

"Yeah, but is it okay if Drew comes, too?"

"Ugh!" I said to myself as I thought about being the third wheel again. I always felt so awkward sitting there as they kissed and stared into each others eyes.

I guess you could say these feelings were a mix of anger and jealousy. I mean, I never had that feeling of wanting to be with someone all the time like Drew and Alli had. I mean, I liked KC when we were going out, but we weren't in love, and I definitely never felt that way about him!

I shuttered at the thought of how I ever even like that guy in any way. He was scum, and I was glad I found that out know rather than later.

My mind was so filled with thought that I almost missed the entrance to English. As I walked in, I saw an unfamiliar boy sitting in the seat in front of me. He was slouching in his seat with his head back, so his dark hair floated just above my desk. That's strange, I thought. He must have just transferred into this school. I don't remember seeing him yet this year, and he was definitely not at Degrassi last year.

I thought I would be polite and introduce myself to him, since he might not know anyone. As I sat down in my seat, I began to speak:

"Hey," I started, "I'm Clare." After hearing no response and getting a little annoyed about his rudeness, I tapped him on the shoulder.

To my surprise, he pulled an earphone away from his ear. "Oh! I didn't realize yo-," was all I could get out before he turned around and I caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were the most amazing things I have ever seen. They were the most beautiful shade of green, and I couldn't stop staring.

"Hi, I'm Eli," he answered. I remembered I was staring at him and quickly turned a dark shade of red, turning away and hoping he wouldn't notice.

"Oh, It's okay," he smirked, "You can keep staring. I know I'm stunning."

"Wow, someone's pretty confident in himself," I quickly shot back, the words leaving my mouth before I had a chance to process them.

"Yeah there's that," he began, "And there's also the fact that I need an excuse to stare back at you."

Again, I turned red. Wow! He was good! Before I had a chance to say anything, the bell rang. Ms. Dawes sauntered in, looking as cheerful as ever. "Alright class! Settle down! We have a new student with us today. Elijah, stand up and introduce yourself."

"It's Eli," he immediately said, not bothering to stand up.

"Okay, Eli," she answered, a little shocked at his attitude, "you picked a good day to join our class, since we will be beginning a new assignment today. Each of you will get a partner. They will be your writing partner for the rest of the year. You will read all their work, edit it, and discuss it with them. Since some of the partners might not know each other, I will give you the rest of the period to talk and get acquainted."

This was going to be interesting, I thought. I hope I get a good partner.

"Eli," the teacher began, " We will begin with you since you are new. You seem like you need someone who will keep you on track. How about….Clare? She one of my best students, and it works out perfectly, since you are sitting right in front of her."

I think my heart just stopped.

"Well, I know I am going to enjoy being able to talk to you all year," he said as he turned around, "and judging by how you were staring at me before, I think you feel the same way."

"Don't be so smug Eli. You are nothing more than an English partner to me," I said, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"Okay, whatever you say, Clare," he smirked.

I looked into his eyes again, not so sure that my last statement was as true as i tried to make it sound.

Oh boy, it is going to be a long year.

Hope you liked it! :)