Clare saw the gun Eli had in his car. Eli had covered the gun quickly so Clare's mind wouldn't wander off. But too late! It already did.
Of course! I need a small break and he tries to kill himself!
But you couldn't blame her; Eli had been pretty dramatic before. And at this point, Clare didn't know what she fell for. Eli had always been dark and mysterious, and always loved Clare. Why couldn't she see that?
When Clare hugged Eli all he could think was that things were going to be alright. But that wasn't right, and deep down he knew it, but he didn't want to believe it; so he just took it. Walking Clare to her locker just let his mind wander off. Back to before, the reason Clare hadended it. He just wanted to make her happy, right? This had nothing to do with…Julia. He'd done this all for her and all Clare had thought of was Julia, and the anniversary of her death.
Eli stopped walking and quickly released his arm from Clare's waist. His mouth was twitching for words, but he couldn't think of any to explain. Clare stopped, and turned around. She gave him a confused look. Why did he stop? What's going on! This could be very tough for them both.