Hi Everyone! I'm Naomi, I'm seventeen years old, just a schoolgirl from the Netherlands. I absolutely love Degrassi, and I am a diehard shipper of EClare. I just adore the chemistry between those two, so I desided to write my first Degrassi Fanfiction! Like I said before, i'm Dutch so my main language isn't English, so I'm sorry for the grammitical errors. Reading and writing fanfictions really made my English better, so I hope it's good enough to let you guys enjoy the story! Enough about me, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi.

Chapter 1 – Clueless.

Clare never lied to Eli about anything – at least, not anything important. And until now, until this very moment, Eli never lied to Clare about anything either. She could see it in his eyes. He lied when he told her these three words: 'I am fine.' Clare could tell that Eli was anything but fine. He wasn't mentally there the last few days, he was completely unaware of anything that happened around him. It was like he was living In his own world of worried thoughts. He was being silent, he let no sarcasm escape his mouth and he wasn't the confident person she knew he was.

"Eli, please. You can tell me anything," Clare whispered as they were walking to his hearse after the final school bell had rung. He stopped walking and started to stare at his black shoes. He parted his lips to say something, but no words came out. Clare grabbed his shoulders and shook them gently to strengthen her words.

"Please, at least look at me!" she was starting to sound desperate now. She hated to see him like this without knowing why he acted this way. All she could hope is that he wasn't hurt, but she had a bad feeling that something really hurting had occurred to Eli's life. She missed the real him. Everything about him that she loved was disappearing. She felt tears well up in her eyes as he kept silent. Now she could definitely sense that there was something wrong. Really wrong.

"I-Is it me? Did I do something wrong?" Clare asked as she rubbed Eli's back softly. She was clueless about what he could be upset about, especially if it involved her. Eli then looked up. She searched for any emotion in his eyes in his blank expression, but failed.

"Are you on those pills again?" she asked, reminding the anti-anxiety pills that he took almost a year ago because of his bipolar period. She couldn't believe the fact that he was just standing there, staring at her teary eyes and seeming not to be moved about her worries. She surely didn't recognize the caring Eli he used to be.

"ELI!" She blurted out, influenced by her pure desperateness and hopelessness. Soon after, she regretted that she yelled at him like that.

"Eli-"

"Let me just take you home," he mumbled as he opened the door to the passenger seat, gesturing that Clare should take her place there. Clare watched him with big, confused eyes. She crossed her arms and walked slowly to the open door, not losing any eye contact with the guy standing next to it.

"I can't believe this," she muttered as see let herself fall in the leather passenger seat of the hearse. Her sight was getting blurry because of the tears that were stinging in her eyes. When Eli had entered the car and placed his hands on the wheel, he started to talk.

"It's not you Clare," he reassured her, his voice cracking as he spoke out her name. He dropped his head and closed his eyes as he let out a huge sigh. As she saw him breaking down, she felt herself breaking down inside as well. She scooted over to him and threw her arms around him. She saw tears dripping down his cheeks. She rarely saw him cry. The only times she did see him cry, was in the period that he suffered from bipolar illness. But he was passed that period now.

"What's wrong, Eli? What happened?" she whispered as she locked her hand with his. She rubbed the back of his hand gently with her thumb. He opened his eyes and lifted his head a little.

"I don't know how to tell you. I barely know how to tell it to anyone. I don't even know how to face the truth myself. I can't believe this is what he did… His whole life, and now, it's too late…" His eyes started to get dry again and his broken expression transformed to an angry one. Clare couldn't figure out what he tried to say and about whom he was upset, but she nodded just so he could continue his story.

"My dad, he's in trouble. And now we're too. I have to go, Clare. Far away. They're after us, because of my dad," he said with gritted teeth. He clenched his hands around the wheel out of pure frustration, his knuckles starting to turn white because of the lack of blood circulation. Clare began to understand Eli's anger, though his words still didn't make any sense. What did his dad do? Why were they in danger? Clare stayed focused and tried to keep herself as calm as possible.

"Who are 'they'? Who are the people who are after you?" Clare asked softly. Eli's breathing rhythm became irregular. He closed his eyes to put himself together.

"My dad. He has been a drug dealer almost my entire life. We have lived from the money he earned with selling drugs. I can't believe I had to find out because of a visit two armed guys paid us last Monday. They threatened to make our lives a living hell if my dad didn't do the delivery he promised to do. My mom appeared to know in what kind of business my dad has been all this time. How can they be okay with it? My whole life… I get sick of the idea I used their gross money. And now it's too late. We're in trouble. He brought us in trouble. Now, my father and mother demanded me to live with uncle Thomas in London so that I will stay out of trouble. They planned on making me leave tomorrow." He turned his face to Clare's, which was covered with a shocked expression. He could see the tears return in her eyes. She just stared at him for a minute before responding.

"Are you leaving? Are you going to London? I don't want you to be in trouble, Eli. If these guys really are dangerous, you should go as far away as possible," Clare said, trying to stay objective, considering Eli's safety. Though she could feel a sickness coming up as she realized Eli – the guy she considered as 'the one' – had to leave, she was also aware of the fact that this was the best option for him. She tried to keep herself together, but tears were already making their way down her cheeks. She felt Eli's hands cupping her face. Clare could feel his minty breath against her skin. His eyes locked with hers.

"I can't leave. I don't want to. I can't leave without you. You understand that, right?" He asked, his voice clearly influenced by a desperate tone. Clare grabbed his wrists tightly.

"And I don't want to lose you, Eli. And I will if you're not going. You're in serious danger, Eli, don't you understand? All you want is for me to be happy, right? Than go. Be safe." she demanded him as her grip around his wrists weakened. Eli closed his eyes as he let go of Clare's face.

"Then what about us?" he whispered. He looked down to the trembling hands on his lap. Clare closed her hands around his to make them stop shaking. She needed to be convincing this very moment. She needed to make him this message very clear.

"We will be alright. I'll be there for you, every step of the way," Clare stated, truly certain about the words she had spoken, "We will be alright."

I'll update soon, chapter 2 is already in the making. So, I know, drama already. If you don't like drama, you'd better stop reading this story - though I promise Eclare sweetness in the future chapters! So let me know what you think, leave a review if you have the time. And again, I'm sorry for the lack of control in my English, I'll try hard to make the future chapters better ;) anyways, I hope you guys liked it!

Thanks for reading, fellow EClare lovers! Oh, and constructive criticism is welcome as well.