Chapter 1 - Breakdown

[[Hey guys! I haven't been on in YEARS, so this is my first story on this account. I know this starts off pretty slow, but I hate when I read fanfics that have SUCH good plots but they move so fast… it ruins them for me :( So the first few chapters might be slow, but I promise they'll pick up! I'd love reviews, and you can suggest anything you want me to try and put in the story, I'm openminded :) ]]

I grabbed Clares hand and grinned. It was after school, and we were on our way to the Dot. Morty broke down again, so we took advantage of the nice fall day to walk over together.

"So," I said. "Yet another paper to write for Dawes."

Clare shook her head. "I am SO swamped, Eli. Between exams coming up, other homework, and now this essay worth 30% of our final grade…"

"Aww, I'll help you with the essay," I grinned. "But forget about math, I can barely define calculus."

She giggled. "Calculus is simple. I just have an extreme case of writer's block, and a 3 page essay on a topic of my choice is not going to mix together well."

"Alright, well, what are you thinking about? Let's start there." We crossed the street as a school bus sped by, narrowly missing us.

Clare smiled. I knew that smile; she had something up her sleeve.

"What we're gonna do after the Dot."

"Oh?" I said, smirking. "Shouldn't you be worrying more about our studying than what we're going to do AFTER?"

She rolled her eyes. "Eli, don't even pretend you aren't curious."

I shook my head. She was so cute. "Fine, Edwards, enlighten me of your plans for this evening."

We had reached the Dot. We stopped in front of the doors, letting another couple walk in before us. Clare turned to me.

"You should meet my parents!"

I froze. Clare's parents? The ones who were constantly fighting, and who go to church every Sunday and usually at least once more during the course of a week? The ones who didn't even know about Clare's last boyfriend? I already knew they would take one look at me and hate me. Normally I wouldn't care, but I did want them to like me for Clare. I didn't want to stress her out anymore.

"Uh…" I said dumbly. She was standing there so expectantly, she looked nervous. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Eli! We've been together for a while now, and I think maybe if I give them something else to think about they won't fight." She smiled sympathetically at what must have been my very apprehensive face. "They look past the looks. They'll love you."

"They won't think I'm a spawn of Satan?" I laughed.

She playfully pushed me. "NO, Eli, gosh!" She thought for a moment. "Well, they might at first." She said, winking.

I rolled my eyes. "Ah, well, I look forward to tonight then." I took her hand and lead her into the Dot.

Three hours later, and the place was getting empty. It was already dark out, and the lights from the street outside lit up the quiet street. Clare and I were sitting in a booth, books and binders spread out in front of us. We had gotten almost nothing done.

Clare sighed. She really did have a bad case of writer's block, despite all my efforts to try and break it. She had dark circles under her eyes and kept yawning. As every new person went up the counter, paid their bill, and left, she looked more and more frustrated. I was feeling pretty down too, seeing as how we were supposed to be at Clare's house in half an hour and she was in such a bad mood.

I put my arm around her shoulder and leaned us back against the seat. "Let's just take a break."

"Yeah," she sighed again. "That's probably for the best."

She nuzzled her head in my shoulder, and I hoped for all the word I had remembered to put on deodorant. I must have, because she didn't move away in disgust.

"You wanna clean up and get going?" I asked. "I'll buy you somethin' at the counter, and you can eat it on the way home to maybe wake you up a bit." I was such the gentleman.

Clare brightened up a bit. "Aww, that's sweet, Eli, but you don't have to. We'll be eating dinner soon anyway."

I shrugged as I packed my books into my bag. "Save it for a midnight snack then. So you can think about me."

She laughed. "Fine, but I owe you."

We left the Dot, after buying an extra large chocolate chip cookie and splitting it in half. The night was cold, so I hugged Clare tight, and that seemed to cheer her up. After a couple of minutes of walking in silence, just listening to the quiet sounds of Degrassi at night, she spoke.

"So are you nervous to meet my parents?"

I scoffed. "Nervous? I've been through worse than meeting the parents."

She smiled a bit awkwardly, with a hint of sympathy. "True, true." She brightened up a bit. "I'll feel so much better when you guys have met, though. Hopefully they'll be so focused on my new boyfriend that they'll stop focusing on each others shortcomings."

I nodded. I just hoped that once they got to know the real me, they'd feel the same way.