Disclaimer: No Degrassi.

She looked free. That was the only way to describe her. Her smile was wide and beautiful. Her purple dress flowed with every move that she made, flowing gracefully in the wind like a flag. A purple flag the symbolized summer and everything wonderful.

She held a sparkler in her pale hand. And this sparkler blazed and it made her eyes light up in a way that made everyone look. And this girl ran through the crowd of people, not caring that people were watching her with confusion. She danced around the campfire, feeling the heat of the fire burn her skin in a way that screamed summer.

But if you knew Clare Edwards personally, which most of you don't, you'd know that she spent the last few months of her Sophomore year crying. Crying for her family. Crying for her life that was falling apart. Crying for the one person who understood it. The one person that understood her. Crying over how that person and she never talked. If you must know, the relationship that she had with this person started with a love and ended with a crash(literally)that injured her in ways that she didn't think possible.

Clare Edwards watched the sparkler in her hand slowly fizz out. Fizz out like the life that she just had. And once again, her heart was filled with stones. Boulders. Rocks that hung heavily in her body, weighing her down with every small step she took. The last spark went out and Clare dropped it onto the ground, letting it sink in the sand, finding its new home.

Without thinking, Clare moved backwards and ran into a body. A male body.

She turned around and stared a boy that had beautiful eyes and had floppy hair that didn't exactly fit him, but he still looked good. But between you and I, Clare desperately wished that she was staring into the soul of the green-eyed boy. The green-eyed boy that crashed with her.

"I'm sorry!" Clare gasped out and looked up at him curiously, "Are you alright? I didn't mean to hurt you! I mean, I just can be so clumsy and I-"

"I'll forgive you...on one condition," The boy bargained and Clare raised her eyebrows and folded her arms, just like she did in the library when she was with him,"dance with me."

"Dance?" Clare asked, obviously not expecting that request.

"Yeah, dance," The boy smiled cockily, "I saw you dancing a few minutes ago. Can I just say that you are a great dancer?"

Clare narrowed her eyes and looked at the boy, mocking coldness. "Don't mock."

"I wouldn't dare." The boy winked and Clare blushed, "I'm Jake, by the way."

Clare held out her hand and shook hands with him briefly. And she couldn't help but notice that she didn't feel anything with his hand wrapped around hers. Forgetting that thought, Clare smiled and said, "I'm Clare."

"Well, Clare," Jake said, moving a bit closer to her, "What do you say? Will you dance with me? And I'll forget that you almost killed me."

"Oh, please, I stepped on you. And I'm not even wearing shoes," She said, jutting out her chin, "but yes, I guess that I'll dance with you." Clare's tone of voice sounded unenthusiastic and slightly dead.

And her heart became even heavier when the boy raised his hand to his heart and said, "My heart can almost feel your excitement. I mean, really, I've never seen so much excitement in my life!"

Clare giggled and glanced to her side.

By coincidence, there stood the boy that had her heart with him. The one that kept her up at night. The one that she couldn't get out of her goddamn mind.

He was laughing with someone else.

A girl.

And the girl kissed him on the cheek, and Clare could see him blush from where she was standing.

With that sight, and the fact that her heart was heavy, and even the fact the sparkler had burned out and was now in the sand, she suddenly grabbed Jake's hand and pulled him abruptly to herself.

"I do want to dance." Clare murmured and she heard Jake gasp.

"Good. I was beginning to feel rejected." Jake muttered, and Clare laughed because she felt like she had to laugh. And she led him further away from the boy that had her heart and the girl that was with him.

Jake grabbed her hand and kissed, still making her feel nothing. And she smiled a lovely smile, because once again, she felt like she had to. Jake wrapped his arms around Clare, not noticing that she was standing on her tip-toes and looking over his shoulder, glancing at the green-eyed boy. Clare watched the green-eyed boy walk away with the new girl, holding her hand. Clare went back down to her normal height and sighed.

"You alright?" Jake whispered against her ear, not sending shivers down her spine.

"Yeah! I'm great!" Clare said with fake enthusiasm, but he didn't see the lie.

He smiled down at her and stared into her eyes and at once, Clare knew what he was doing. The hesitating. The slowly leaning down. She had done this all before. His lips moved closer to her and his eyes were closed. But hers were still wide open and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the green-eyed boy that would always have her heart, kissing the girl. A kiss that was supposed to be hers.

Clare reached up the rest of the way and kissed Jake back.

She felt nothing.

Because she would always feel everything for the green-eyed boy.

...What's with these depressing stories? I mean, really...

Sorry.

Review? ;)