OK. Hi! I finally finished the first chapter. I really hope you all enjoy this. I know I was supposed to update this the day I finished EClare Affair, but I had writer's block. So, sorry. But hey, guess who's in this story? K.C.! Yay! Anyways, I think we all need a happy EClare since of the promo we all saw. If Eli messes up I will push him down some steps. And if you all want to follow my Twitter it is xo_blackroses . I'll follow back!

Summary: Though Eli and Clare are best friends, Eli can't help but fall for her. The thing is, Clare is dating K.C. After a horrible break up between the two, Eli tries to fix her broken heart. Along the way K.C. comes back to try to win her heart. Will Clare fall for Eli or will she run back to K.C.?

Eli

Eli saw her walk into the school. He knew that she was probably looking for him since they didn't spend last weekend together. His heart fluttered when he saw her smile, she was extremely beautiful. He just wished that she'd realize it. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but he couldn't. They were best friends and he didn't want to ruin their friendship. Besides his other best friend, Adam, Clare was someone he didn't want to lose. He loved her. He was in love with her. He just there was a way he could find out if she loves him too.

"Dude, tell her," Adam said, reading his mind.

"How did you know—"

"Eli," he said cutting him off, "I can see the way you look at her like she's a perfect painting."

"She is a perfect painting, Adam. She's so beautiful, but I can't tell her. She's with K.C. and she's also my best friend. I'm not going to ruin that."

"Well, your loss," Adam said, swinging his book bag over his shoulder and walking away.

Eli sighed and walked over towards his locker. He put in his combination, opened his locker, and placed his book bag in there. He grabbed his books for his morning classes and closed his locker. He gasped when he saw Clare standing right there, smiling widely.

"Did I scare you?" she asked, giggling.

"No," Eli said, trying to keep a straight face.

"I'm sorry," she laughed, "Hey, what are you doing today? Wanna hang out?"

"What about K.C. I thought you two were hanging out today."

"We were, but K.C. is staying after today."

Eli nodded his head and smirked. He was happy in the inside. His heart was doing flips and his mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts about Clare. He watched her tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear and lightly chew on her lip. She smiled awkwardly at Eli, which caused him to snap back to reality.

"Uh, s-so, what do you wanna do today?" he nervously.

Clare smiled widened and a little squeal escaped her lips. She clapped her hands together as her face reddened.

"I was thinking we could go to the park for a little picnic."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. It's a date."

"A friendly date," Clare corrected.

Eli nodded his head, once again and forced a smile on his face. Of course Clare had to remind him that it was a friendly date. He knew that it was, but for once he wanted to pretend that it wasn't. He wanted them to be so much more. He just wishes there was a way he could tell her that, but he couldn't. She was in a happy relationship and he was the best friend—nothing more.

The bell rang and Clare smiled as she walked away from Eli. A sigh escaped Eli's lips as he watched her walk down the hall. Seconds later he was walking down the crowded hall, trying to get to his first period. When he got there, Jake and Mo were waving him over. He smirked, walked over towards them, and took a seat next to them.

"What are you doing today?" Jake asked, once Eli got seated.

"Going on a picnic with—"

"Oh, who's the lucky female?" Mo interrupted.

"Do tell," Jake chimed.

"It's just Clare, guys," Eli said, feeling his-self blushing.

"My stepsister, Clare?" Jake asked, in shock.

"She is also known as my best friend, but yeah."

"You two make a cute couple. Better than her and K.C. I have a bad feeling about that guy," Mo said.

"Well, don't tell her that. She'll blow a gasket. You know how my sister can be," Jake said, raking his fingers through his brown hair.

"Look, guys, Clare and I are just friends. I'm pretty sure that's all we're going to be, so just drop it. OK?" Eli snapped.

"Eli, Mo, and Jake, do you have something to share with the class?" the teacher asked, catching their attention.

The boys shook their head and remained quiet for the rest of the hour.

The whole time Eli was thinking about Clare and what the boys had said. Of course he thought that he and Clare would be a great couple. They would be better than her and K.C., but she would never know. It pained him to know that he'll probably never get a chance with Clare. He was OK with it, though. He was just glad he had her in his life. That was all that mattered.

The rest of school was a breeze. Now Eli was at Clare's locker, waiting for her to arrive. Few minutes later, she was walking down the hall with K.C., a wide smile on her face. Anger boiled through Eli's body as he looked at them. Why couldn't it be him? He'll never understand what K.C. has that makes her head over heels for him.

"Hi, Eli," Clare smiled as they approached her locker.

"Uh, hey, Eli," K.C. said, looking at the floor.

"Hello, Clare. K.C.," Eli said, trying to remain calm.

An awkward silence fell between the three as they stood at Clare's locker. She cleared her throat and Eli stepped aside, letting her open her locker.

"OK, so Eli, we'll go to The Dot and get some food. Then, we can go the grocery store, buy some junk, and go to the park."

"Uh, what am I missing here?" K.C. asked.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Eli and I are going on a little picnic, since you're staying after school today. You don't mind, do you?" Clare said, innocently.

"Not at all, baby. Have fun and call me when you get home. If it's not late, I'll drop by for a little while."

"OK," Clare smiled.

K.C. grabbed Clare's waist, causing her to giggle. She turned around and kissed K.C. on the lips. Eli rolled his eyes in disgust and turned away from the two, not wanting to watch what was going on.

"I love you," he heard Clare say.

"Love you, too," K.C. said quickly.

Eli heard Clare sigh and close her locker. She tapped Eli on the shoulder, causing him to turn around. He gave her a fake smile.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

Eli held his arm out and Clare linked her arm with his. They walked out of the school, smiling happily. This is the way it should be. This is the way Eli wanted it to be.

As they walked to Eli's car, they saw Adam standing there with his arms folded. He smiled once he saw the two approaching him.

"Hey guys."

"Hi Adam," they said in unison.

"What are y'all doing today? I really don't wanna be home alone."

"Well—" Eli started, but was interrupted by Clare.

"We're going on a picnic. Wanna join?"

"I-I don't want to intrude," Adam said, catching Eli's glare.

"No, I insist. What kind of friend would we be if we let our buddy stay home alone? You don't mind Eli, right?"

"Right," Eli said.

Clare smiled and turned to Adam.

"Now, let's get in the car and get the food and stuff."

They hopped in the car and drove off to The Dot to grab some food. Then, they drove to the grocery store to grab junk food. Before heading to the park, they went to a store to grab a few blankets for them. Then, they were off to the park to have a nice picnic.

Eli was a little upset, because he wanted Clare to himself. Adam was their friend, though. Like Clare, he didn't want Adam to be home alone. He was going to put aside his feelings and enjoy this wonderful day with his best buds.

As soon as they arrived at the park, Clare was the first one out of the car. While the bus was unloading the food out of the car, Clare was grabbing the blankets and going to find a place to sit.

The guys followed behind her and sat the food on the blankets. They took a seat, putting Clare in the middle of them.

"So, let's dig in!" Adam yelled.

Clare, Eli, and Adam grabbed their portion of food and began eating. After eating, they began to play Tag.

"I got you!" Eli yelled, picking Clare up and spinning her around.

"Ahhh! Put me down, Eli!" Clare squealed.

Once Eli placed Clare down, she smacked his arm and ran.

"Run Adam!" Clare screamed, giggling loudly.

Adam ran, Clare following behind her. Eli caught up with them and tapped Adam.

"Ha, you're it, bro!"

After playing Tag for another hour, the three went back to the blanket, and collapsed on it. Besides the wind blowing and the birds chirping, you could hear the three of them panting.

Clare curled up between Eli and Adam, peacefully falling asleep. Adam and Eli, however, were still up. They both were gazing at the sky.

"So, are you going to?" Adam asked.

"I told you before. I can't and I won't. She means too much to me," Eli whispered

"OK," Adam said, dropping the subject.

They let Clare sleep for an hour, before waking her up and taking her home. Once Clare was dropped off, Eli dropped Adam off, and went home. He went straight to his room, laid in bed, and let his thoughts drift on to Clare.

Clare

After Eli dropped her off, she went up to her room, and called K.C. After two rings it went straight to voicemail. She sighed and decided to wait fifteen minutes until she called him again. She knew that K.C. couldn't still be at school. It was around seven o'clock and the only people still at the school were the staff. Clare called K.C. again and this time he answered. Clare heard someone shuffling around then she heard a giggle—a girl's giggle. She heard K.C. hush the person before paying attention to Clare.

"Hello," K.C. answered.

"Uh, hey, I just wanted to tell you I'm home."

"Oh, OK. Well, I won't be able to come over today. I have tons of homework."

"Oh, how about I come over to help," Clare suggested.

"N-No, that's OK. I-I gotta go," K.C. said hanging up.

Clare stared at her phone, before tossing it on the bed. She wondered who the female was that she heard in K.C.'s background. Was he cheating on her? Clare shook away those thoughts and laughed loudly. Of course K.C. wasn't cheating on her. He was in love with her and she was in love with him. He was probably hanging with his mother or other family member.

Clare's phone lit up and she saw that she had a text from Eli. She smiled and opened the text to see what it said.

Eli: I had fun with u and Adam today. :)

Clare: Me too!

Eli: Are u with K.C. yet?

Clare: Nope. He canceled. He just had tons of hw.

Eli: Oh. Mind if I come over for a while then?

Clare: Come on over. It's just me and Jake anyways.

Eli: Be there in 10.

Clare smiled and placed her phone in her pocket. She walked down the steps to see Jake sitting on the couch with a plate of fried chicken in his lap. He had his legs relaxed on the coffee table and he was gnawing on his chicken.

"Sup, Clare?"

"Nothing, Eli is on his way over."

"Oh, OK. Hey, what's up with you two?"

"What do you mean?"

"Between us two, do you like or love Eli?"

Clare opened her mouth, but quickly closed it. Sure, Eli was a wonderful person. He was always there when she needed him. He always picked her up when she was down. When she and K.C. got into their first argument, he was there for her. He was her shoulder to cry on and she was grateful for that. But did she like, or love him? She didn't know.

"Jake, Eli is a friend. I love him like a brother," Clare answered.

"OK, but I honestly think y'all would be a cute couple."

"I am happy with K.C., Jake! I cannot think about Eli and I being a couple. I am in love with K.C. and I love Eli like a brother. OK?"

Jake nodded his head and continued to eat his chicken. Clare huffed and folded her arms. She and Eli were like siblings. She couldn't possibly be with him. She loved him, but she wasn't in love with him. Or, so she thought…