Chapter 2

With all the anger she felt towards her mother, Clare was seeing red. She thought having time to herself would give her mind a break. It only made her mind go into overload with thoughts of dating her brother. How could she go home and live with Jake, the guy she loved? She finally got over Eli with Jakes help. Now she has to live with him? It is not really the way you would want to live with the one you loved.

Clare made it to prom just in time to see Eli and Adam walk in to do their waiter duties for the night. She didn't want to deal with Eli at that moment so she stayed behind and let them walk in ahead of her without them noticing her. When they were inside the school she slowly made her way in after them.

Prom was not what she expected. She always thought prom was going to be drab and boring. When she walked through the entrance Clare saw how beautiful the planners had made it. There were twinkley lights, amazing sculptures, and a beautiful fountain in the center of the floor. There was just one thing missing; her date. Even though she didn't have Jake with her she was going to make tonight the best night of her life. But that is when he walked in. When Jake walked through the door, Clare's heart dropped. She was hoping that he would not come tonight. But with any luck they wouldn't have to talk and she could go on with her life.

Clare was thirsty so she turned around and walked over to the refreshments table. She crabbed a small, pink plastic cup and filled it with the pink punch, not knowing what kind it was. When she took a sip, she found out that it was peach flavored. It was a refreshing break from the usual fruit punch they usually served at school dances. Alli walked up to her then, and they started talking.

"Hey, Clare. What's wrong? You seem a little different than the last time I saw you." Finally someone saw how upset about Jake she was.

"My mom had Jake and his dad over for dinner tonight before I left. Our parents are getting married. They thought that would be the best time to tell us."

"Oh my God, Clare! I am so sorry. How could they do that to you guys?"

"They didn't know we were together. I told them after they told us and said we were going to be moving in together. My mom and I got into a huge fight afterwards and I left. I came here by myself."

"Hun, I am here for you. Let me know if I can do anything for you. even if that involves beating the shit out of Jake. I can take him!"

"Oh my goodness, Alli! That just made my day so much better! I could so see you kicking his butt. Even in your high heels! Thanks Alli. You're the only one that I can talk to right now. That is why you are my best friend."

"And you are my best friend." They pulled each other into a tight hug and held it for about a minute. When they let go of each other, they turned back to the table and started filling a little paper plate with tiny finger sandwiches and little cookies. They walked away from the table so they weren't in the way of people trying to get their refreshments. They walked across the floor and went to stand up against the wall. They talked about anything and everything. They were having a really good time, laughing and joking around with each other, back to the time when there was no drama in their friendship.

After about half an hour of talking and enjoying themselves, Alli had to go to the bathroom. She gave Clare her plate and walked away down the hall. After just a moment of being alone, she saw Jake out of the corner of her eye. He was walking towards her. Clare wanted desperately to run away so she didn't have to face him. Unfortunately, she wasn't that lucky.

She turned to walk out the door but before she had a chance to walk through the door, she felt a hand on her arm pulling her back. She turned around to see Jake standing there.

"What do you want, Jake?"

"Clare, I really need to talk to you."