And the second chapter begins! Get ready for a bumpy ride, guys! Clare and Eli have some big troubles up ahead!

I do not own Degrassi or any of the characters affiliated with it.

CHAPTER 2

Clare felt the cool breeze rustle through her hair as she hurried home. She could still feel that tug in her chest as she breathed in the rushing air and wished it would never go away. This feeling; the feeling that Eli wanted to spend time with her alone was amazing. It was moments like these that kept Clare hanging on to the hope that Eli would eventually come around. And it was moments like these that she would remember, even if Eli never did come around, that she would still feel the same way about him. But right now, all she could think about was the fact that Eli wanted to be with her.

She peddled faster as her house came into view. She wanted to run upstairs and pick out the perfect outfit. As she parked her bike on the side of her house, she reached into her pocket for her phone to call Alli. Just as she was about to press the call button, she hesitated.

'What am I doing?'

She lowered the phone, looking at the numbers on the screen.

'It's not like this is a date, remember? You're only going with him to keep him company. He would have taken Adam if not for his family plans.'

Clare let her phone snap shut and she stuffed it back into her pocket. She could pick out her own outfit for tomorrow. And she shouldn't have to tell anyone about her plans. It's just two friends taking a trip together. No big deal, right?

Clare briskly jogged up the stairs to her front door and effortlessly pushed it open. She saw her mom in the kitchen and said a quick hello before running up the stairs to her room. She shut the door and walked over to her bed. She looked around the room for a second, wondering why it seemed different. She shrugged and let herself fall onto the bed. She grabbed the closest pillow and hugged it tight.

"Whatever happens tomorrow," she said allowed to herself. "I'm going to be happy just being with Eli. No regrets."

She turned over onto her stomach and looked into her closet. Her head shot up as she realized what had made the room look so different. She stood up and walked to the closet, opening the door completely. She looked at the bare space, and then looked around her room for the missing items. They were nowhere to be found. She turned on her heel and quickly walked down the stairs.

"Mom?" She called out.

"Mom?"

"In here, Clare!"

Clare followed her mother's voice to the living room where her parents both sat, hand in hand. The sight of them so happy together was still a welcomed sight for Clare, and she nearly forgot her reason for coming down. Her father gestured for her to sit down on the loveseat in front of them and she systematically did so. As she slowly sat down, she couldn't help but notice the suspicious looks on her parents.

"So, what happened to all my clothes?" Clare began. "Spring cleaning already passed, mom," she said, half joking.

"We know." Her mother responded. Her parents gave each other sly looks.

"Clare, we have a surprise for you."

Clare's heart dropped into her stomach.

"What-what kind of a surprise?" She managed.

Her parents gave each other another knowing glance.

"Well," said her father. "Since your mother and I have gone through therapy, we've decided to do something special this summer to celebrate."

"Just the three of us," her mother finished.

"That's great!" Clare let out. "But I still don't understand why my clothes are missing."

Her mother leaned forward. "We're going to Europe for the entire summer! Our flight leaves at 10:00 tomorrow!"

Clare's breath caught in her throat. Her parent's voices seemed off in the distance. Clare sunk in her seat, unable to even pretend anymore. Europe seemed like a great place to vacation to, but Eli wasn't there. And Clare wanted nothing to do in a place without Eli. Not being able to see his emerald eyes for more than a few hours seemed to make her weak, much less not seeing them for an entire summer.

"Clare, aren't you excited?" Her mother questioned.

Clare shook her head slightly, coming back to focus on her parents.

"I'm, uh…" She looked for the right words to say. "I'm really excited mom and dad…but…" She let her eyes fall to the floor. How could she possibly tell them that she wanted to stay here, not for Alli and her friends, but for the dark, brooding boy who she couldn't do without?

"Is there any way we could leave the next day?"

'At least give me tomorrow,' she begged silently. 'Just tomorrow and I'll somehow manage to get by without that smirk of his or his emerald eyes or his-'

"Clare, you can't be serious. What could you possibly want to stay here another day for?" Her mother and father looked at each other, incredulous that their daughter would give up even one day in Europe.

Clare looked around the room, hoping something, anything would come to her mind to give her one more day with Eli.

"Well, mom, see-"

Her eyes fell onto a picture of her and Alli.

"Uh, Alli and I have plans!" She began. "We've been planning these plans for a while now and she'd be heartbroken if they fell through."

Her parents didn't seem moved.

"All I need is one more day," she pleaded. "After tomorrow, you can take me wherever you like!" She attempted to sound cheery, hoping they could use another day to pack properly.

"I'm sorry, Clare," her mother answered. "We can't change the tickets now, it's too late."

Clare's shoulders fell.

"You and Alli will just have to get together when we come back. You'll have another week before school starts."

Her parents stood up from the couch and began to walk out.

"If you like, why don't you go to the dot with Alli and explain the surprise. I'm sure she'll understand."

And they were gone. Clare sat there, heartbroken and angry.

'I should be excited that I'm going to Europe.' She complained to herself.

'Alli would give her left arm to be able to take a trip outside of the country…'

Clare let her head fall into her hands. 'Is Eli really that important to me? That I'd want to give up a trip to Europe?'

Almost instantly, she seemed to answer herself. 'Of course he is.'

She stood up, ready to head to Eli's house and explain this whole thing. He always seemed to have an idea up his sleeve. She grabbed the doorknob and began to turn it, but stopped mid-turn. What was she going to tell him? That she didn't want to go to Europe because she'd be away from him? That a summer was just too long for her to go without seeing him or hearing his voice? She was waiting for him to say the word, not the other way around. She let her hand fall back to her side as she thought of what to do next. Give up and just text him that she can't go with him tomorrow? Ask him to meet her at the dot? Ask him to run away with her for the entire summer? She wished.

"I'm going to the dot to, uh, to meet Alli." She called to her parents. She opened the door and walked out just to hear them say goodbye.

She slowly made her way to her bike and she let her hands fall upon the handles for a moment, wondering where she was really going.

'Maybe the dot will help,' she thought. 'I'll grab a green tea and maybe I can figure out how to tell Eli that I'm leaving-…' She stopped mid-sentence when she finally realized what leaving tomorrow really meant. It didn't just mean not taking that trip with Eli, it meant that today was the last time she would see Eli for most of the summer. The last thing she ever said to him was a simple, 'Bye, Eli'. She wouldn't even get to give him a hug goodbye. She suddenly tried to desperately remember everything about him. His scent, his eyes, his hair, the way he walked...she couldn't believe she'd be without him for so long.

'It's not the end of the world, Clare,' she tried to reason. 'It's only the summer.'

She answered herself once again. 'But a lot can happen during the summer…'

Her mind went wild with ideas. Ideas of Eli giving up on her, Eli falling for someone else, Eli kissing someone else…

She shook her head harshly, trying to push those thoughts from her mind. She took a breath and jumped onto her bike, quickly, and started for the dot. She needed a place to sort out her thoughts that wasn't on the side of her house.

She tried to focus on pedaling, going faster and faster until her legs felt like they were on fire. It didn't take her long to reach the dot. She parked her bike, not even bothering to lock it to the bike rack, and made her way inside the cafe.

Peter was at the counter, making some drinks. He looked up and smiled when he saw her.

"Hey, Clare! How's it goin'?"

She shot him what she hoped was a convincing smile. "It's going. Think I could get a green tea?"

"Coming right up. Should I get another drink ready…?"

Clare shook her head. "No, it's just me today."

He gave her a sad smile and nodded. 'Strange,' Peter thought. 'Wonder where Eli is…'

Clare sat in the corner seat looking out the windows. She took her phone out and put it on the table, knowing that, in the end, she would probably end up texting him that she couldn't go and leave it at that. But she wanted to try to work in at least some way to see him again, just once.

"Here you go, one green tea." Clare was thrown out of her thoughts as Peter set down the cup in front of her. "And some honey, right?" He asked as he slowly began to put the honey down on the table. She smiled and gave him a nod. He smiled back, glad he could remember at least how one of his customers liked their drink.

Clare took the warm cup in her hands and lifted it up to her lips as Peter walked away. It was still too hot to drink, but the sweet smell from the honey and the warmth it brought to her hands was enough for now. She was just about to drown out the noise from the rest of the customers with her thoughts, but something caught her ear.

"…Eli…"

She looked around the dot, hoping Adam and he hadn't come here before their horror movie marathon.

"…such a smart ass, and that girl he's with all the time-"

She looked around more rapidly now, wondering who could possibly be talking about Eli. Her eyes finally fell onto a boy a few tables over. He was facing the other wall, but she knew who he was. It was Fitz.

"It's obvious she's the kids only weakness…"

She looked away, pretending not to listen.

"He probably thinks I've forgotten all about his little stunt earlier this year. Well, you just wait to see what I have planned for him and that girl of his next year. He'll regret the day he ever gave me that fake I.D."

'Was Fitz talking about me?' she wondered. 'Either way, when I see Eli again, I'll have to tell him about this…"

She sipped at her tea, making a mental note to tell Eli before school started again. If she told him now, she'd just start trouble, and she couldn't bear the thought of Eli with another busted lip. Besides, he did say next year, right? She watched as Fitz and his friends then stood up, throwing some money on the table. They laughed as they made their way to the exit. Clare tried to stay invisible.

"Clare?"

She jumped, spilling the hot tea all over her hands.

"OUCH!" She cried.

Thank goodness Fitz had just walked out the door.

"I'm sorry, Clare, I didn't mean to make you jump." Adam grabbed the napkin from the other side of the table and started to wipe up the spilled tea. "Are your hands alright?" Clare held her burnt hands and tried to dry them off gently.

"It's ok, Adam, I'll be fine." Her heart skipped a beat. "Adam, if you're here, then-"

"Eli's back at my place. I just came to pick up some coffee to keep us awake."

"Oh…" The disappointment was evident in her voice.

"You know, I'm getting real sick and tired of you two walking on eggshells around each other. I wish Eli would just hurry up already."

Clare sighed. "Yeah, me too."

'Good going, Adam,' he thought to himself. 'Just make her feel worse. That's the way to keep friends.' He mentally kicked himself.

"So, where's Alli? Is it girls night too?"

Clare let out a small laugh and shook her head. "No, It's, um, just me." She looked up at him, trying not to sound as miserable as she felt.

"You're here alone?" Adam gave her an incredulous look.

Clare raised her eyebrows. "Yes," she scoffed. "I don't always need you and Eli around, you know."

"Could have fooled me," Adam joked.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Adam rolled his eyes as Clare waited for an answer.

"It means you should come with me."

Clare sat up, confused. "Come with you…"

Adam let out a frustrated sigh. "Back to my place, duh."

Clare considered the invitation for a moment. It would allow her to at least see Eli one more time…

'But it's guys night,' she told herself. 'It wouldn't be fair to either one of them if I barged in. But then again,' she reasoned. 'If they knew I was leaving for the summer, would they forget about guys night to spend one last night with me?'

She looked up at Adam, the words "I'll come" already on her tongue. She opened her mouth, but only a sigh escaped before she closed it again.

'Am I really that important to either one of them?' she wondered. 'It's the first night of summer, if they had wanted to spend it with me, they would have.'

She decided to decline Adam's invitation and she also decided not to tell Adam she was going away.

'It'll be like a surprise for them,' she thought. 'They'll get more guy time, and maybe some time away from me is what Eli needs…maybe then he'll figure out what he wants…'

"Thanks, but I'm going to have to decline. It's guys night. I know you both have been looking forward to this horror movie marathon." She fiddled with the remaining cup of tea, twisting it on the table as she smiled up at him.

"Trust me," Adam began. "Eli wouldn't mind one bit."

'In fact,' he thought. 'He might prefer having you around. All he ever talks about anymore is you.'

Clare shook her head. "You go have fun watching Killer Clowns from Outer Space or whatever."

Adam laughed out loud. "I don't know what's weirder. You knowing about that movie, or the fact that you're reluctant to spend more time with Eli."

'All I ever want to do anymore is spend time with Eli,' Clare silently answered him.

She gave him her best reassuring smile and took a sip of the remaining tea.

"Well, if you're sure, Clare." Adam checked the watch around his wrist, his eyes widening for a moment. "I'd better get back before Eli starts wondering why it's taking me so long."

"Yeah, have fun…and tell Eli I said hello, okay?"

Adam nodded before he turned around to make his way to Peter, who was now holding his coffee.

'Eli would kill me if he knew I was letting Clare stay here by herself…but she looks like she needs the alone time.' Adam grabbed the coffee and stepped out the door. 'Besides, it's not even dark yet. She'll be fine,' he reasoned to himself. He took one more glance back at Clare. She waved halfheartedly and Adam nodded again, turning back around. 'Yeah, she'll be fine.'

As Clare watched Adam walk away, she decided it would be useless to prolong this text she was inevitably going to write. She decided now would be the time to text Eli, while Adam wasn't there, so he would actually read it and not ignore it like he did so many times while a horror flick was on. She flipped open her phone with a heavy heart and began to compose the text.

Have to bail tomorrow. Sorry, Eli.

She took in a breath, said goodbye to her would have been perfect day, and then sent the text.

What is Clare going to do now that she'll be without Eli for an entire summer? What does Fitz have in store for Eli and Clare? Is Adam right, will Clare be ok? Find out in the next chapters!

The next chapter is from our leading man, Eli! Thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter!