Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi, the characters, or the lyrics to Shadow of the Day (Linkin Park; Minutes to Midnight)

A/N: Okay, so this is the first story I've posted in a long time. I'm sorry for the waits, and thank you all for the amazing responses on all of my stories. I think I'll reserve this as a one-shot.

I got the idea from some Linkin Park songs I was listening to in the car...-cough-...and voila! :) Enjoy, loves.

I close both locks below the window,

I close both blinds and drift away,

Sometimes delusions aren't so simple,

Sometimes goodbye's the only way, oh...

Eli looked down at her feet, his eyes tracing up her body. She was…breathtaking, as always. The way the floral dress hugged her curves, her hair was perfectly curled, the tousled ringlets falling around her face as she smiled. Ah, the angelic smile he'd grown so accustomed to. It almost felt like home; safe, loving, caring…all words used to describe his perfect girlfriend. The trademark smirk crept across his face as he took her into his arms, engulfing her in a desperate hug.

Today of all days, he needed her more than anything else.

It'd been two years, two long years, since the girl he'd told he loved had slipped away from him, all in a matter of minutes. "Clare…" he whispered, taking in her scent. She always smelled like vanilla, and he couldn't get enough of it, like a little kid in a candy store. "Eli, it's okay. I've told you before, I don't mind helping." she assured, holding onto him tighter. He still felt a pang of guilt, knowing she'd been helping him with his room for the past 3 months.

Time had gone by relatively quick. Eli could finally see the floor of his room for the first time in what seemed like forever. The trash-coated bins were long gone, along with a few containing old schoolwork. The thing that bothered him the most were the light blue bins, the ones marked 'Julia'. There were at least seven of them, all stacked in neat rows beside his window (which Eli had forgot about until the bins were moved a couple weeks ago). Clare would say she was okay with them, but Eli knew she was uneasy.

The days they went through her stuff; her old shirts, jeans, even underwear that she'd left at Eli's house. They'd stop after ten minutes or so, just to lay in silence on his bed. Clare's head would rest on Eli's chest, his arms protectively wrapped around waist. He loved being close to her, like he could let his walls down without the risk of being taken advantage of.

Clare was too good, too innocent. He had to protect her; since he felt like it was his purpose. Before she found out about Julia, about the hoarding, he thought he would eventually tear her down, destroy her innocence that he'd grown to love so dearly. But he had corrupted her, little did he know, with the little things he did. His sarcastic comments, his smirk, the feeling he gave her when those magnificent jade eyes would scan her emotions; they all somehow manipulated her feelings, added a little bit of Eli's personality into her. She had become accustomed to his jokes, the way he'd talk about anything with her, and she'd find a way to relate. She'd developed a sarcastic ego of her own, similar to Eli's, but it was still purely Clare.

And that was why Eli loved her, because she could make anything her own, even him.

And the sun will set for you,

The sun will set for you,

And the shadow of the day, will embrace the world in gray,

And the sun will set for you...

He pulled back from their tight embrace, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. God, he loved that electric blue, the same color he'd said were pretty the day he met her. Eli's eyes closed as he blinked, opening not a second after. But the eyes he looked at now weren't that blue. Instead, they were a metallic grey, eyes he hadn't seen for 2 years. Eli pressed his lips to a line, quickly blinking again to find the blue color was back. A wave of relief crossed him, and he took her into his arms again, holding onto her desperately, more so than before.

Clare took in a sharp breath, but reciprocated, hugging him back. She could tell something was wrong, but didn't question it. She knew Eli was fragile; he needed her more than she knew. Even though Julia had been gone, Clare knew the void she'd left behind. Although he never told her what happened during the fight, not even what it was about, she knew it was bad.

The cards and flowers on your window,

Your friends all plead for you to stay,

Sometimes beginnings aren't so simple,

Sometimes goodbye's the only way, oh...

Eli was avoiding telling Clare what happened. He was afraid she'd leave him, although she'd stayed with him through all of this; the therapy, cleaning his room, the emotional breakdowns. "Could you tell me?" she whispered, her voice sending a chill down his spine.

"Clare…do you really want to know?" he replied, pulling away from their embrace once more. She nodded, her honey curls bouncing slightly.

He took in a deep breath, "Alright, um, she…she told me s-she was pregnant." Clare's eyes grew wide as she took in his words. She was too shocked to respond, so she was left speechless. "But the thing was…we were n-never, um, unprotected o-or anything. So, I questioned her about it." Eli drew in a shaky breath, his words becoming choked up in his throat as he spoke. He sighed, "She cheated. After everything we'd been through, she'd managed to cheat on me." Clare instinctively cupped Eli's cheek, wiping away the stray tear that had slipped down. "I couldn't control myself. I was so angry, I took everything out on her. She stormed out of the car, took off." Eli laughed a little, looking to Clare. "I couldn't believe how blind I was to it. I never even found out who the guy was."

Clare moved her lips closer to Eli's taking in a deep breath before closing the gap between them.

And the shadow of the day, will embrace the world in gray,

And the sun will set for you.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! :)

Review, darlings!

Muchlove.