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Eli pulled into Clare's driveway around nine later that night. Adam had stayed at his house until his mom called him at 8:30. Eli was slightly annoyed because it meant that he had less time with Clare. But he had the rest of the night with her. He loved hanging out with Adam, but he also loved his Clare time. He got out of Morty and looked for the ceramic turtle that contained the spare key. He found it and opened Clare's front door. He returned it before he went inside and locked the door again. He then went to the fridge and grabbed a soda before he headed upstairs. This was all part of the routine that they had created together.

He opened her door to find her laying on her stomach on her bed with her feet in the air and staring at her laptop. She looked up and smiled.

"Hey you."

"Hey blue eyes." He smiled down at her. She closed her laptop and sat up. He bent down and kissed her chastely.

"How was hanging out with Adam?" She asked while getting up to put her laptop on the computer desk.

"It was alright. We played some video games. He stayed over longer than he normally does though. He kept looking at me suspiciously every time he would ask me a question."

"What was he asking about?" She sat back down on the bed, grabbed his hand, and pulled him down so he was sitting beside her.

"He asked me what I would be doing if he wasn't there, and he kept asking about you. He asked if I still had feelings for you. I think he's starting to get on to us."

"What should we do?" We looked a little worried.

"I think we should just cool it around him for a little bit." She looked a slightly disappointed but nodded.

"So what did you tell him to answer his questions?"

"I told him that I would've just been doing homework and hanging with my parents."

"What about me?" He took a deep breath.

"I told him that you and I are just friends. That we tried it, and it didn't work out and that you're seeing Sam now."

"What did he say?"

"He looked at me and 'right she's seeing Sam' but the way he said Sam's name was weird. Like he wanted to make sure I knew that you're dating someone else."

"You're right. We should definitely not do anything around him. He is getting suspicious." She looked over at Eli who was deep in thought.

"Hey what's wrong?" He looked at her then looked at the floor.

"It's just that you are dating Sam." She cut him off before he could go any further.

"Eli, I thought we talked about this already. Sam and I aren't official so until that happens; I'm still going to be with you." She stared into his eyes. He began to lean forward. Their lips touched gently at first then grew more passionate. She laid down, pulling him down with her. He positioned himself so he was lying on top of her. He starting kissing her neck and moved up to her ear.

"I want you Clare." She shuddered at his whispered words. He pulled back and stared into her eyes, asking for permission like he always did. She moved her hand to caress his left cheek.

"Then take me Eli." He did exactly as she said.

They laid in her bed snuggled up to each other. He was on his back while she rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. It was times like these that made her miss the old times. Yes they were together, but not the way she wanted. She wanted all of him, not just the secret romance he would give her.

"Why aren't we together?" She spoke quietly in the dark bedroom.

"What do you mean? We are together." She moved so she was sitting up to see his face.

"You know what I mean. Why aren't we a couple?"

"You made it clear that we couldn't be together when school started again."

"Because you were fighting Fitz again, and I refuse to lose you that way. Why can't you just leave him alone?"

"Clare, he could have killed me and you. It's not my fault he flunked and is back to make my life hell." They were both getting angry.

"Now I remember why we aren't together." They stayed quiet for awhile just looking into each other's faces. Eli sat up before he began talking again.

"Look I'm not going to apologize for fighting Fitz. He has it coming every time. I don't just randomly run up and start thrashing on the guy. He always deserves it. I'm not going to change that either. That's why we can't be together. Because I won't change this, and you can't stand it. I understand that it hurts you when I fight him, but I can't stop. Not until he changes. He can't keep hurting people this way. But it doesn't change what's between us."

"What's between us?" She knew what they had, but she wanted him to say it.

"Clare, we loved each other so much. I changed a lot about myself for you, and I would do it again. You gave yourself over to me completely. I understand why we broke up, no matter how much it hurt. But look at us. We can't live without each other. I'm over here almost every night still with you. I understand our reasoning behind keeping it secret. I understand why we do this. I just don't understand the actual relationship." He laid back down. She moved back to her position on his chest.

"It's us Eli. And whatever this is works for us. We're together without all the hard stuff." They stayed quiet as what she said sunk in. He kissed her forehead.

"You're right. Now let's drop this and get some sleep. We have school tomorrow and a whole day without our usual secret flirting. I don't know how you're going to get through an entire day without touching me." Clare could picture the smirk he was wearing right then.

"I'm sure I can manage." She looked up at him and smiled. He kissed her chastely one last time before they fell asleep.