Hey guys. So, I did decide to write a sequel to Rhythm of Love, and, quite obviously, this is it! If you got curious and opened this story, but you haven't read Rhythm of Love I suggest that you go do so. It's not entirely necessary, but…I mean…this IS a sequel. Yeah.

Anyway, to my returning readers, this is set just two weeks after the end of Rhythm of Love. Eli will play a MUCH bigger part in this story. Fasten your seatbelts, people. It's going to be a wild ride!

Lastly, I don't own Degrassi. I just really like to write about the characters. =) :

Nothing's perfect- not one person, not one life, painting, sporting event, opportunity, offer, friendship, or relationship.

Everything has at least one flaw.

However, in spite of, or perhaps because of, these flaws we love anyway. People still use the word 'perfect' as an adjective because flaws make something whole, real. Flaws can make things appear perfect.

My life isn't perfect- never has been and never will be. But I would be lying if I didn't say it was starting to feel dangerously close to perfection.

In fact, the only thing standing in the way of me and perfection was my fatal flaw:

I am naive

Sav.

Just the sound of his name had the ability to make me blush and smile like an idiot.

Only two weeks had passed since he finally stood up to his parents, but when I was with him it felt like time stood still. We were just so happy, fit so perfectly together, that it felt like our relationship defied time completely.

To say that his parents were okay with our relationship would be overstating things a bit, but they had grown tolerable of it, at least. The first time I had gone over there after Sav informed them of the life he would be leading from then on things had been tense and uncomfortable. But I had been like a part of the Bhandari family for so long that Mr. and Mrs. Bhandari couldn't stay angry for too long. They had even told me that if Sav was going to reject his religion for anyone they were glad it was me.

I had no idea how to respond to that, but I figured to take it as a sign that, eventually, they could be happy that Sav and I were together. If Alli could do it, her parents could.

Of course, Alli was just starting to warm up to the idea, but she was still much more comfortable when Sav and I slipped and did something couple-like in front of her.

It didn't hurt that our friendship was back on track, too. After I had ignored her for the better part of a week it took a lot of groveling and explaining, but Alli had known I really didn't want to avoid her; I just thought that it had been for the best at the time. Alli, knowing me better than I know myself, had decided I needed a push back into reality. She was single-handedly responsible for patching up Sav's and my relationship. For that reason I would forever be in her dept- and she wouldn't let me forget it.

All in all my life was settling into a new version of its old patterns. Alli was still my best friend, but now I was dating her brother. I was over the Bhandari's house all the time, but now it wasn't just to see Alli. My mom and I spent a lot of time together, but now she had a job, too. I saw both my parents on a regular basis, but now they didn't live together…

The great thing about my parents, though, was that now the divorce was official they were nicer to each other than when they were married. Isn't it funny how life works? We were going to therapy sessions together- sometimes it would be all three of us, sometimes just one of us, or two of us at a time. Either way, they seemed to be helping.

Also, every Thursday we all tried to get together to have dinner. It was like we were more of a family now that they had divorced- making a point to spend time with each other, talking things though, and being civil in general.

Basically, life was going my way, and I couldn't have been happier.

As I was sitting on my front porch thinking about all this the car I was waiting for pulled up to my curb.

"You're going to fry your brain before you even get to first period if you keep thinking that hard," Alli called to me, getting out of the passenger seat to slip into the back.

I simply smiled at her, claiming my place in the passenger seat next to Sav. This was our routine now. I would wait for Alli and Sav to pick me up in the morning, and then, without a single complaint, Alli would switch from shot-gun to the backseat so she wouldn't have to see us holding hands in the front.

"Good morning," I greeted both of them as I closed the door behind me.

"Morning, beautiful."

Sav subtly reached over the console to slip his hand into mine. I intertwined our fingers and smiled. It was the small moments like this one that I looked forward to in the morning.

"Could you guys, like, go easy on the sappy sweetness right now? My morning was not so great."

I turned around in my seat to face Alli; her lips were set in a pout, and she looked slightly angry.

"You're parents are still on your case about Drew?" I guessed.

Alli's parents weren't exactly aware of Alli's colorful social life until they caught her on a date with Alli's latest fling, Drew Torres. Since then, not only had she been grounded, but her parents were especially harsh on her. They already had unrealistic expectations, but now they were also mean to her. They reminded her almost daily how much she had disappointed them, and I could slowly see it wearing on Alli mental health.

"Yes! How come when he," Alli kicked the back of Sav's seat to accentuate her anger, "stands up to them they cave, but when I try to reason with them they jump down my throat? I hate being grounded. I'm lucky Drew is sticking around- I'm always in a bad mood these days."

"Please, Alli, Drew is the lucky one."

"Hmm…who am I to argue?"

I laughed, winking at Alli before turning to face forward again. I felt Sav gently squeeze my hand as thanks for keeping Alli calm and collected. I knew Sav was hearing Alli complain about Drew more than I was…because I was hearing him complain about Alli's constant complaining. Not that I minded in the least, I was just happy to have the both of them by my side.

We pulled into Degrassi's parking lot mere seconds later, and Alli shot out of the car. "I'm off to find Drew. See you at lunch, guys."

Although she probably was going to find Drew, Sav and I both knew she was also giving us some time alone. Alli was great about that- helping me balance the time spent with my best friend and my boyfriend. Sometimes it was especially hard because they lived in the same house, but it was the little moments before school, in between classes, or right before I left the Bhandari's that Alli knew we needed. And she was always ready to let us have the time together. That was, as long as I compensated with a trip to the mall or some equivalent.

"How did the song writing go last night?" I asked Sav as we fell in step together, heading for the school.

"Well, whenever I got stuck I just thought about my muse, so it was fairly successful."

I blushed as he playfully knocked into me, slyly wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I slid my arm around his waist, connecting us fully as he smiled down at me.

"Do I get to hear any of these songs?"

"When they're finished; one of them is written specifically for you."

"You wrote me a song?"

"A Bhandari original."

"You, sir, just made my day."

"It's early still; I'll probably screw something up in an hour or so."

I chuckled shaking my head as we stopped at my locker. "Has anyone ever told you that you're adorable? Because you are."

"Oh, I know." Sav winked at me before placing a light kiss on my temple. "I'll see you at lunch, Clare-bear."

I watched him walk off, a light sigh leaving my lips.

"Ah, young love," a sarcastic voice sneered beside me.

"Hey, just because you're alone and bitter does not give you the right to mock my happiness," I turned to find Eli leaning against his locker. Since he had literally ran into me in the hallway we had found out that we not only had English together, but our lockers were next to each other. We had formed a shallow friendship based on sarcasm and our love for literature. However, even after a couple weeks, I still felt like he was a stranger.

He was like a complicated puzzle that I needed to figure out- whether it was for his sake or my own I had not decided.

"Who says I'm alone?"

"Good point- I have no idea what your personal life is like."

"And you probably never will." He slammed his locker shut, flashing a smirk at me before turning sharply on his heel and walking away. "See you in English, Edwards," he called over his shoulder.

I stood at my locker for a moment, too lost in thought to move. I watched Eli walk away, the careful way he avoided making any physical contact with the swarm of students around him. I never saw him talk to anyone but me, and even that didn't happen often. Every now and then his eyes would catch me off guard again, and I would be tempted to ask him about his past, about what made him so sad; force him to let me understand his peculiarities.

I shook my head and made my way to Math. Why I was so interested in this kid I would never understand, but I was.

I took my usual seat next to Alli in class. "How's Drew?" I asked as soon as I was settled.

"MIA, actually. I couldn't find him anywhere. It's whatever, though. I'm not really in the mood for people today, anyway."

"Hang in there," I commented sympathetically, reaching across the aisle to pat her leg.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm strong. I'm independent. Wahoo."

Before I had the chance to say anything about Alli's pessimism the bell rang, and we both turned our attention to the front of the room.

After class was over I quickly pulled Alli into a hug. "Your parents will come around, Alli. You just have to be patient."

Tears sprung to Alli's eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.

"Thanks, Clare. It's just hard to believe while I'm sitting around waiting for them to forgive me."

"You know my house is always open if things start to get too stressful."

"I may have to take you up on that soon."

"I have to get to English, but I love you, Alli. Try to cheer up."

She only nodded, trudging down the hall to her locker. English was the only class I didn't have with Alli, but it was my favorite subject so I wasn't really complaining. I just hoped she would get better soon. Her uncharacteristic behavior was starting to worry me.

I was still thinking about Alli, and what I could do to help, when Mrs. Dawes breezed into the room, talking excitedly about some debate project. I was having trouble focusing, but I did hear her mention partners. Before I knew it everyone in the class had silently picked their partners, so when Dawes told us to get to work the room turned into mass chaos for a second, and then everyone had been paired off.

Eli, who sat in front of me, turned around. "Looks like it's just you and me, locker buddy."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "What makes you so sure I want to work with you?"

"Look around you, slow poke; you don't have much of a choice. I would say you could work by yourself, but I don't think there has ever been a successful one-person debate."

"Touché…"

I trailed off, and Eli didn't bother to say anything else. I was getting sucked into those eyes again- the bottomless pain both frightening and intriguing me. Soon enough, though, my stare turned less searching and more competitive. We just stared each other down across our desks, daring the other person to speak first.

Eli apparently had a will made of steel, and was not going to cave. I decided if I wanted to get anything done I would have to start up the brainstorming. But just as I was opening my mouth to ask what topics he would be interested in doing a debate on the bell rang.

"Well I'd say we were wildly successful today. Good work."

I laughed, walking out the door with him. "I can only hope tomorrow proves to be just as fruitful."

For a moment a genuine smile curled up the edges of Eli's lips. It wasn't his usual hard smirk, and I was caught off guard by how vulnerable he looked.

"Hey, Clare," Sav walked up from behind me, making me jump.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Eli dismissed himself quickly, the smile disappearing with the vulnerability.

"Who was that?" Sav asked curiously, his hand finding my own.

"Just some kid I was partnered up with for an English project."

I tried to sound nonchalant, but Sav seemed to detect something off about the way I had delivered it. He raised his eyebrows at me questioningly.

I gave Sav's hand a gentle squeeze to reassure him that I was telling him the truth. Then, I pushed all thoughts of Eli Goldsworthy out of my mind.

I know this was short, but we're just getting our feet wet.

So, what did you think? I feel like I've been a little bit off my game lately. I hope that doesn't make this horrible to read. Please tell me if you liked it, hated it, or simply don't care. Either way, feedback is always a good thing! =)