The Last Time
Summary: Eli runs into Clare and his son, almost fifteen years later.
Eli Goldsworthy sighed and stared down at the cellphone in his hand, thumbing through his contacts as he sat in his desk at Degrassi Community School, waiting for his students to show up. Today was his first day at work and the first day of the school year. He was grateful for this job. Grateful that Mr. Simpson had offered it to him when his plans of being a famous screenwriter had fallen through.
Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom and within moments, students began to filter into the room. He studied them carefully, grabbing the folder that held his student's and standing to his feet. He began to list off the names of the students until he eventually got to one that was all too familiar. His heart clenched in his chest as he called out, "AJ Edwards Fitzgerald?" He asked, voice low. 'No. It couldn't be. It had to be a mistake.' He thought, there was no way that was Clare's kid. Especially not with Fitz. After all, even if the child was the same age as Clare's child would be, it was Drew Torres kid, too.
"Here." A voice said loud and clear. The boy who had spoken had a fair complexion and huge blue eyes. His dark brunet hair fell to the nape of his neck curling a bit at the ends.
Eli swallowed hard as he took in the young teen. There was no denying that the child was Clare's. He had her eyes and skin tone. Hell, he even had her nose. The kid didn't look much like Drew, however. He couldn't help but wonder if that was because this AJ was Fitz's kid.
AJ shifted uncomfortably, smiling a tad bit when he felt his best friend, Taren squeeze his arm. He was glad to have his best buddy by his head. The ginger headed teenage boy helped calm him down.
"Alright guys. My name is Mr. Goldsworthy and I'll be your English teacher for this year. The first thing I am going to do is hand out the list of rules for the class, books, and your folders."
He handed out stacks of books, folders, and rules and discussed what they'd learn in the class that year. Before long, the bell rang once more and AJ and Taren hurried out with the rest of their class, leaving Eli to watch them go.
Eli collapsed in his seat as soon as the boy was out of sight. He couldn't believe it. It was just his luck that this had happened. That he'd run into Clare's child with another man. He'd spent so long trying to forget her and yet, he never could. It was damn near impossible. Especially now that AJ was in his class.
"Dude!" Taren Foster exclaimed, turning wide green eyes on his best friend. "What was up with our English teacher looking at you like that?" He shivered as he recalled what had happened. It was beyond creepy.
AJ shrugged, not looking at his friend as he shoved his books into his locker so he wouldn't have to carry them to his next class. "I dunno." He murmured softly. A lie that sounded strange even to his own ears. Of course, he knew full well why had been staring at him that way. He knew that the man had a past with his mother. A past that had resulted in him. He knew that his Aunt Alli did not like Eli at all, neither did his Uncle Jake. He also knew that the man was his birth father, though AJ didn't care about that. He didn't want to know someone who'd treated his mother so horribly. Besides, he had a family. His mother had began dating Mark Fitzgerald when he was almost two. He was four when they married. And two years later, they had his baby sister, Gabriella who was now nine. He had a happy life with very succesful parents who loved he and his sister dearly, so no. He never really thought of the prospect of getting to know his sperm donor.
Taren jumped when the other boy slammed his locker door shut angrily. "Hey." He said softly, wrapping a comforting arm around his friend's shoulders. "Calm down." He rubbed AJ's tensed up back softly until the dark haired boy loosened up. "You know that if something was wrong, you could tell me, right?"
The brunet nodded and threw his best friend a smile. "I know Taren. Maybe I'll tell you eventually. I don't feel like talking about it right now."
"Hey Eli!" Imogen Moreno said, breezing into his room right after his last class of the day had ended. The dark haired woman was wearing a pair of of overalls and a tee-shirt, hair tied into a loose bun. She had paint splattered on her, showing that she'd obviously had fun with the art class she taught. She walked over and wrapped her arms around her friend, hugging him warmly and kissing his cheek. "So how was your first day?" She questioned, taking a seat beside of him on the desk and locking her eyes on him.
"Why didn't you tell me that Clare's kid would be attending?" He asked instead of answering his friend's question.
Imogen's dark eyes widened. "You've met Adam?"
Eli whirled his head around sharply. "She named him after Adam?"
The woman nodded. "Uh huh. Adam Jacob . She named him after both Adam and Jake. Jake helped her out a lot with the pregnancy."
"And what happened to Drew? Isn't he the kid's father? And when did she marry Fitz?" He fired off his questions, not waiting for an answer and silently fuming.
Imogen swallowed hard. "Honestly Eli, that's something you should ask Clare about. It isn't my place to tell you." With that, she stood. "Here, how about I take you out for drinks? You seem like you could use them." Without waiting for an answer, she laced her arm through his and they headed out the door, stopping at the scene in the middle of the hallway.
Eli stared at the scene before him, looking at Clare standing there, obviously older but still as pretty as he remembered. A little girl stood between she and Fitz, looking the perfect mix of them both as they all came to see how AJ's first day had been. It made him feel bitter and before he could stop himself, he was stalking over to the group.