Disclaimer= Degrassi? I do not own that, nor do I own any guides about proposals.
A/N= Some of this fic will be from Eli's POV. I know there is information out there about how Eli is and the supposed storyline he has... I painted Eli in a very grisly light in Everything Red. I'm sure that you'll think of him differently after reading this fic.
A nearby cold snap made this particular Quebec evening extra bone chilling. After the last of the logs were chopped, Eli carried the pieces inside his house to the fireplace, where they were thrown in and lit up via a burning paper tip. Exhausted, he turned to have an expected collapse on the couch for a well-deserved rest after several hours of chopping. "My Paul Bunyan deserves a cup for his efforts," cooed the woman that headed towards Eli, who had a cup in her hands that was steaming.
"Thank you sweetpea, you always seem to know what I need." Eli set the cup down, kissed his woman and stroked her curves. He returned to the couch to stare into the flames, eyes gradually narrowing until they were closed shut. The woman threw a blanket over her man, which drew a smile from him, subliminally thanking her for the gesture. When Eli is in the early stages of dreaming, his subconscious is like an amusement park, quickly going through fast rides and remaining stationary through slow ones. When the smoke cleared, the turbulence was explained.
[POV]
It started the minute I entered school. My dad was horrible with directions, which resulted in me being 15 minutes late. The teacher was nice enough to let it slide; however, my classmates weren't so kind. I don't think they hated me for the tardiness; it was probably for other stuff. I made some friends and had some acquaintances; but, its funny how much peer pressure has an effect on children of that young age. When we were in music class, I was the absolute worst at playing instruments, string or percussion. When we had concerts, I was in charge of cleaning/shining the instruments because I was deemed a liability to play. I told my parents of my "job," and all they did was shrug and give me a pat on the back, as if to commend me on what I did. After every concert, I went in my room and cried. My mom I'm sure heard me crying, but very seldom did she come in my room to comfort me, probably at the suggestion of my dad, who likely wanted me to "toughen up." Whatever though because I gave sports a try and I actually wasn't half bad at it. I seemed to have developed a reputation in town as someone who wasn't good at anything. I was a good hockey player and we had rinks so naturally pristine that it was as though they were formed during our planet's creation. My skills were evident- my slapshot would've been truly feared except for the fact that I always got picked last... I either got picked last or not picked at all! My breaking point was reached when I wasn't picked to play against a rival neighborhood. Grabbing my stick, I pulled out a puck from my back pocket and threw it down, which caused fissure-sounding cracks in the ice. Everyone looked as I ripped a shot that went through the net and also think killed a squirrel. All my gear was strewn over the ice as I stormed home. That was the last time I played sports because I no longer wanted to feel the pain of being the odd man out.
xxx
I realized that during Grade 7-8, I was really changing. No longer was I some lonely superjock, no. My clothing got darker, as did my hair. I found that my personality was more reserved. My speech was more direct, with emotion seeping away by the syllable. I took a sick day after lunch one mid-afternoon and simply wandered around the neighborhood. Eventually getting bored, I headed towards the woods and stumbled across a place that I would eventually find out was called The Ravine. It was the early afternoon and I went through the fence and saw chairs, a camper and some benches. This was going to be one of those "stop and go" moments but then I saw her. She had a notepad and a pencil that were lying on the table, not being used. "Hi I'm Eli." She shyly told me her name as she continued her stare into the unblazen fire pit. "I see you have a pen and some paper there... you look really sad s everything okay?" She snapped back at me, accusing me of being nosy. "I don't mean to be that," I said, "its just that I was once told to express your thoughts and take out your negative emotions out on paper." I didn't press further because I had to go home but I got the feeling that she was checking me out. That was the last time I saw her for a long while.
xxx
I got to Degrassi and kept it low key because of my "darkness" you could say. At the start of the new year, I was sitting down by the bike rack when I saw HER again. She was obviously older, equipped with a new hair style and sufficiently glossed lips. I'm sorry, but when you come across a being so beautiful, you tend to lose your sense of self. We started talking, but all I could remember were the last few lines of our conversation.
"You have pretty eyes."
"I'll... see you around?"
"I guess you will." Sigh. We had some adventures at Degrassi, both good and bad; bad due to me getting beat up. The threats the goons made were juvenile, talking about how "someone will drive my car with me laying in the back." I had a higher tolerance and it did reach the boiling point, but that was not the reason the school was put on lockdown. Aside from that, I want to talk about her. We really clicked because we were both seen as outsiders, people that were not desired by anybody. She told me that only nerds fully understood her and for lack of better words, she was given by some random person the old "give everyone a chance" cliché. Her parents were going through a divorce and I once again encouraged her to write and write she did. I've read many stories, poems and essays in my time, but never before have I read anything quite like what she had written. The careful word choice, the organization and sentence structure was something to marvel at. The care she put into her writing was wonderfully placed. Thats all I want to remember before I wake up. My past is nothing worth remembering, except for the fact that it shaped my personality at Degrassi. When I did snap, SHE was there to calm and comfort me. Whenever I found myself raging during private moments, SHE was there in my thoughts to comfort me. When I had trouble on a particular college assignment, the woman who helped me through all of that and more was... [/POV]
Eli was sweating bullets when he woke up. They were not drips of cold sweat, mind you, so he woke up with a cold towel draped on his forehead. "You haven't had one of those dreams in a long time babe," chimed Clare, who added some more logs to the fireplace. "You didn't have to do that - -"
"I want to. You worked so hard to chop the logs... it was the least I can do."
"Being my - -" Eli stopped himself mid-sentence because he was going quip with something that was going to hurt Clare's feelings. "Our 10 year reunion is coming up right?"
"You looking forward to it?"
"Are you kidding?" Eli mused, "I have the date marked on my calendar." They both shared a laugh because Eli didn't have a calendar. Before going to bed, at the advice of Alli and Holly J, Clare brought up the M-word; not directly, but as a condiment in a comical hamburger with extra patties. Eli opened the bag to peek inside, but ultimately saved the meal for later because he wasn't hungry.
The 10 year reunion arrived and everyone is geeking around, dancing and making valid attempts at singing. There were several tables and Clare was sitting with her friends. They all made small talk and were sharing some giggles when a little kid ran up to Clare and tugged at her sweater. "AUNTY CLARE!"
"Um, hello little boy?"
"Daddy wants to talk to you come on!" Turning to her friends, Clare was told that the kid was K.C.'s son, Kameron. Clare got up and approached K.C., who had a table to himself alongside Jenna. "Clare-bear, you've gotten so pretty; I'm jealous!"
"I've... aged well? Anyways, what do you want K.C.?"
"I was told to tell you to go to the bike rack." Clare was puzzled but soon left, knowing who was waiting for her there.
xxx
The sun was nearly setting as Eli was waiting for Clare. He checked out early because he did not want to deal with the nostalgia. Socializing with old acquaintances was not the primary reason why he wanted to go to the reunion. "Why aren't you in there?" Eli just looked at her because she already knew his reasons. She asked sheepishly if she was okay. "I'm okay sweetpea... I'll always be okay as long as you are with me." Clare couldn't help but smile at her man. While most women shied away from Eli, she grew close to him because they both shared equal experiences of loneliness. Sensing her daydreaming, Eli asked if she still read tarot cards to which she eagerly produced her deck. "Let me do this baby." Clare was asked to turn around as Eli got her cards and started shuffling for several minutes, doing it while standing. He started saying some stuff which Clare didn't pay any attention to, but then she started tuning in when he mentioned the reunion. "It would really be something if we went to the next reunion with more significance attached to us." Clare blushed, thinking about what could possibly be said next. Interestingly, Eli got some tennis balls out and started juggling them. "I didn't know you knew how to juggle."
"Its a little something I learned over the years. I guess it was a surprise." As Eli was juggling, he reiterated his love for Clare, talking about how he'll invest everything he has because she was worth it. "To be honest, I really wouldn't know where I'd be if you were not in my life. You were an angel sent from heaven from above to take care of me." Eli was fighting back tears as he said many more things. One of the balls fell to the ground, perfectly splitting in half to reveal a small box. Eli got down on one knee and proposed to Clare, who tearfully said yes. Everyone thought that K.C. and Clare were meant for each other but I guess Eli and Clare were even more meant. At the next reunion, Eli and Clare would be seen as husband and wife, with perhaps a kid or two tugging at pantlegs. Its really typical for people to assume that the bad boy and the good girl will end up a couple, but sometimes it takes a person from the opposite sex to be coming from where you are coming from to truly form a connection.