Title: For Those Nights I Can't Remember

Rating: PG-13

Chapter: 1

Fandom: Degrassi: The Next Generation

Summary: It's been almost a year and finally, Clare's back at Degrassi, but she won't talk to anyone, but Alli. KC will do anything to figure Clare out, even break up with Jenna. Klare. Kenna. Jalli.

Comments: Listen to the song "For Those Nights I Can't Remember" by Hedly. It reminded me so much of KC and Clare and fitted this story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the idea.

D:TNG

Clare sighed, looking into the mirror propped up on its red oak stand and tilted her head to the side while playing with her straight chin length hair. "Do I look okay?"

Alli looked up from the bed where she was laying, reading a magazine and rolled her eyes, annoyed, "Clare, you look fine."

Clare turned back to Alli and pursed her lips together. "How is he?" she asked softly.

Alli smiled, propping up on her elbows because she was suddenly intrested and nodded, "He's doing good." She flipped the magazine closed and sat up, asking curiously, "Are you too going to, like, get back together?"

Clare pushed her short hair out of her face with an eye roll and grabbed her makeup kit off her nightstand and started applying her eyeliner while trying to come up with an answer for her friend.

A scream sounded through the house followed by extreme crying before Clare could answer.

"Clare!" Judy Edwards, Clare's mother, shouted up the stairs from wherever she was in the house getting ready.

Clare's eyes went wide with a roll as she headed out of her room next door to the nursery with Alli right behind her like a shadow. Clare picked up the infant boy from his crib with a weary smile, cooing, "Hey Kent." She bounced around the blue room carefully, soothing him slowly. She looked at Alli and smiled sweetly, "Will you please take him while I finish getting ready? Please, Alli?"

Alli sighed dramatically and held her arms out, "Give him here."

Clare grinned, placing him gently in Alli's arms, "Thank you." She rushed back to her room to finish her preparing.

Alli picked up Kent's blue blanket and walked to Clare's room, sitting down on her bed. "So who's watching him while you're in school?" she asked while making kissy faces at Kent and rubbing his tiny arm with her index finger. She placed the blanket on the bed spread and wrapped him up before holding him in her arms again.

Clare bit her bottom lip while in thought, pushing a stray strand of red hair from her face and placed her eye makeup brush against the bronze eye shadow until it was covered enough. "I think Nana's staying with him today. Mom leaves at ten for a business meeting, so until then, it'll be her." She carefully applied the eye shadow to her eyes.

Alli nodded, looking down at Kent in awe. "Hi Prince. Did I tell you you're precious today?" she cooed. She glanced up at Clare, "He's getting bigger. And he has a few brown hairs."

"His father's hair. And his eyes," Clare interrupted her friend and then bit her lip as the thought of Kent's father filled her mind, as he often did when she'd feel lonely. She felt lonely an awful lot too

"You have brown hair in your baby pictures," Alli stated factually, looking up at Clare and hoping she made her feel better.

"Clare! Are you ready?" Judy shouted at her daughter again from downstairs.

"Coming!" Clare hollered back, getting up and grabbing her purse and slinging her backpack over her shoulder. She looked at Alli and reached out for Kent.

Alli handed him back easily, getting up and left them alone.

Clare looked at Kent and smiled sadly, "Hey Baby. I'm going to school now, okay?" She felt him squirm a bit to get comfortable and held him closer in a swaddle to comfort him. She started down the stairs, Kent resting in her arms against her chest. She finally reached the front door where her mom and Alli were waiting. "Mom, I can't leave him."

"Nonsense," Judy insisted. "Go put him in his car seat and then Kent and I will drop you and Alli off on your first day back. You've put too much work into keeping up to drop it all now, Clare."

Clare rolled her eyes with a sigh and walked out the door with Kent securely in her arms.

D:TNG

KC shoved his backpack in his locker and, feeling paranoid with his girlfriend watching him, looked at Jenna, who was just standing there watching him. "Can I help you?" he asked, looking in his locker for his calculus book.

Jenna eyed him up and down as if he were some sort of territory she was protecting, stating in a snobby tone, "If you think for five seconds that just because Clare Edwards is back that you're leaving me to get with her…"

KC perked up for the first time in his entire eight month relationship with Jenna and his eyes went wide with glee and excitement. "Clare's back," he repeated Jenna's words before he slammed his locker shut and rushed off to find Clare Edwards.

"Hey!" Jenna shouted after him, stomping her foot in a raging fit. "KC Guthrie! Get back here."

KC ran as fast as he could to the school entrance. He looked around and saw through the glass of the admissions office that Clare was standing there. Her hair was chin length and she had a green and black checker patterned purse with her brown with pink lining backpack, but other than that, she look like the same Clare he had seen during finals last year.

D:TNG

Clare sighed, looking from Ms. Hatzolakos to her mother, who was holding Kent as if to make Clare's situation easier, "I dunno if I can do this."

Ms. Hatzolakos smiled, nodding, "Clare, I am one hundred percent positive that you will be just fine going back to Degrassi."

Judy smiled, stating her agreement with the school's principal, "See, Clare. You'll do just fine."

Clare frowned sadly, looking at Kent and touched his cheek. "I love you. Be very good, Bumble Bee." She kissed his forehead and left the office alone before she could get any more emotional.

Clare froze when her eyes came upon KC Guthrie.

KC stood before her, a huge smile on his face. He opened his mouth to talk, but no words came out. He searched his mind quickly and spoke softly, "Clare…"

Clare shook her head at him, hurt clearly shining in her eyes and just walked away as fast as she could to the media room for her first class.

D:TNG

KC sat in the seat behind Clare in Psychology, watching her in awe and smiling at her back in a daze.

Jenna sat in the desk beside him and rose an eyebrow, eyeing him carefully as he watched Clare. She dropped her pencil on the floor purposely. When she went to get it with her foot, she slammed her foot down on KC's instead.

KC's jaw dropped and he turned to Jenna, his face turning red with anger. His eyes narrowed and he looked down at the pencil and then back at Jenna.

"Oops," Jenna mouthed, kicking her pencil back to herself and leaned down, picking it up gracefully.

KC rolled his eyes and went back to doting on Clare while the newly returned brainiac girl in the seat before him took notes.

Clare knew KC was watching her. She could feel his eyes like they were burning a laser through the back of her head. She bit her bottom lip as it trembled and closed her eyes before tears could well in them. She shook away the feeling, looking back up to listen to the lecture her psychology teacher was giving.

D:TNG

Clare sat at a lunch table with Alli and sighed, running a hand through her hair before poking at the salad in the plastic container she had brought from home with a fork.

Alli frowned in concern, "Clare, you need to eat."

Clare shook her head, shoving the container away, "I'm not hungry."

"You have to get used to not having him around," Alli stated, taking a bite of her apple.

KC sat down next to Clare. "You don't have to get used to not having anyone around. Leave her alone, Alli," he said, trying to defend Clare. He gave her a charming million-dollar smile.

Clare's eyes went wide. "What are you doing here? Where's Jenna?" she asked.

"Jenna has a different lunch. She doesn't own me," KC replied. "And why should you get to have a say in who I'm with? You haven't talked to me since… hmmm… what was it… June seventh last year." He looked at her with a painful longing and touched her hand she had laid on the tabletop. "I miss you, Clare."

Clare immediately pulled her hand back from his touch as if it were a reflex. She looked at him in disgust and shook her head, "Don't touch me. Ever." She stood up, grabbing her container and walked away while closing it shut.

KC frowned, furrowing his brow in confusion. He looked at Alli, "Alli, what the hell's going on?"

Alli shrugged nonchalantly, not wanting to give away Clare's secret.

D:TNG

Clare slammed the front door to her house shut behind her. She started for the stairs, but stopped when she saw out of the corner of her eye that her grandmother was on the couch with Kent nestled in her arms. She turned around and headed quietly into the living room. She leaned down and her grandmother willingly let Clare take him without one word. Clare held him tight, never wanting to let go of him again, and kissed his head.

"How was your first day back, Sweetie?" Nana asked sweetly.

Clare kept her eyes on Kent the entire time she spoke to her grandmother, "It sucked. But luckily, I only have until June before I graduate."

Nana smiled encouragingly, "It will get better. I know you, Clare. You've got that strong Edwards heart. You'll get through this."

Clare just gave her a weak smile and gave the top of Kent's head another kiss before laying her head ever so gently against the infant's as if to comfort him, even though she needed it more at the moment.

Nana sighed, suggesting, "Why don't you take him upstairs, cuddle for a little, feed him, and lay him for a nap. I just changed him, so he should be good for a while. I'll clean up and make you some dinner."

Clare smiled at the idea and nodded, "We'll be upstairs."