History Behind the Photographs
Summary: Ava Marie-Hope Martin always knew that her family was different. She loved them with all of her heart, though.
A/N: Ava is the daughter of Glen(Jake's dad) and Clare's mom, Helen. This will be a twoshot.
A/N 2: the only characters I own are Ava and Damien.
Little Ava Marie-Hope Martin was born April 6th, 2012 to Glen and Helen Martin. She'd come, kicking and screaming into the world a week past her due date. Clare and Jake had been at a party that Fiona Coyne was throwing when they'd gotten the news and they had rushed to the hospital. Clare's boyfriend, Eli Goldsworthy and Jake's girlfriend at the time, Katie Matilin had come with them. According to Jake and Clare, it had been storming the night that she was born-a hint, perhaps of what her personality was going to be like. Anyway, since her mother and father were so much older than her, she would often go to her sister and brother for advice and she had a really close relationship with both of them. She knew them like the back of her hand. That was probably why she always knew that there was something...different about them.
When she was around nine years old, she was over visiting Clare and Eli in their new house. They had currently been married for a few years and they had a three year old son named Damien Michael. Ava had been playing on the floor with Damien when she'd stumbled a worn photo album that belonged to Clare. Curiousity getting the best of her, she opened it up to take a look at the photos. She'd gotten lost in the pictures of Clare with Alli, Adam, KC, Connor, Wesley, Katie, Eli and Jake-until she came to another section of the album. One that was devoted to pictures of Clare and Jake together. She had furrowed her brow as he dark brown eyes landed on a picture of Jake standing behind Clare with his arms wrapped around her petite frame. He was pressing kisses along her jawline and Clare was beaming a smile filled with laughter at the camera as her hands clutched Jake's. Now this was completely unexpected. Nobody else she knew took pictures with their siblings this way, so why was it different for Clare and Jake?
She knew that Jake and Clare weren't blood related and that their parents had married and had Ava when they were teenagers, but that shouldn't change things, should it?
What had her questioning even more was the look on Clare's face when she caught her little sister staring at the photographs. She looked...nervous. And when Ava had questioned her about the photos, Clare had brushed it off and told her that she'd tell her when she was older. Ava absolutely loathed that term. She didn't want to wait until she was older to know the truth. So she began to watch Clare, Jake, and Eli closely and in that time, she began to notice things.
There was the glare that Eli seemed to have in his eyes when Jake and Clare hugged. There was the way that Jake would immediatly come to Clare's defense. There was the awkwardness that would fall over them whenever Ava asked Jake and Clare about their highschool life.
Whatever Ava did to try and get to the truth, her siblings would not budge. Not at all. So at fourteen years old, she began to complain to her online friend Tyson and he'd informed her that she should try and ask some of Jake and Clare's friends if she was so curious. And that is exactly what she did.
One day after school, she'd pedalled to Alli Turner's home. She knew that if anyone spilled the truth, it would be her. It just might take a little coaxing. So, as soon as she got there and was seated on the couch, she began to question Alli about highschool. She was about bored to tears by the talks of ex boyfriends, until...
"Clare and Jake dated for awhile after Eli and Clare broke up, once in tenth grade. They actually made a really cute couple." Alli commented, seeming to not realise what she'd just said until she heard Ava gasp.
Next part will be posted tomorrow: Ava confronts Clare and Jake about what she knows.
Also, I have an EClare oneshot where they get back together and a Julia/Eli oneshot where a suicide pact is the real reason Julia is dead. They'll both be posted sometime this week.