Disclaimer: You should sue Target for taking up all my free time, leaving me with none to sit down and actually think of an original idea.
People filtered in and out, students needing to get home and finish last minute cramming before the exams of the next day. Yet, the two of them stayed, talking and sharing long after their coffee's had cooled. Holly J showered Eli with stories of freshman debauchery, about how they stole a tray from the dining hall and went dirt sledding down a hill, all-dorm pillow fights, and of course how hard she was working. Eli took everything in and couldn't help but laugh at the images she was putting in his head. He, in turn, told her all about the play he wrote, how he hoped it would be chosen as the spring play, and the comic he was planning with Adam. He wanted so badly to share his good news with her, but he still didn't think it was a good time. He just got back in her good graces, why jeopardize that?
Holly J excused herself for a moment to use the washroom, finally giving Eli a chance to check his phone. He knew it was getting late. Flipping it open, a text from Clare flashed onto the screen:
"Are you home yet?"
The timestamp was for 6:30, almost two hours before. All the happiness of the past few hours drained out of him. How the hell would he explain this? Part of him wanted to ignore it, tell her that he had forgotten that he said he would text her when he got back. A little twinge of anger sparked inside of him at that thought. Clare shouldn't be checking up on him. He said he would text her and she had no reason to not trust him. But, if she was already suspicious, he couldn't very well text her now and tell her that he was just finishing up with Holly J. Oh no, that would lead to more questions that he simply didn't have the energy to answer. Chewing on his bottom lip, he typed:
"Sorry, got home and fell asleep for a little while. How's church?"
No, it wasn't the truth, but right now, it was easier. It wasn't like anything was happening with Holly J that was worth reporting anyway. They were just old friends who were catching up with each other. Still, The Dot was almost completely empty now and Eli needed to do the right thing.
"Boring, but it's almost over. Mom's making me stay to help clean up. The Grade 2's used glitter in their craft. I look like Ke$ha haha," Clare responded. Eli smirked a little and shook his head.
"I would pay cold, hard cash to see that, Edwards."
"Sorry, you know the rules. No boys allowed in the house after 9:30 and there's no way I'm making it home before then :-("
"Yeah, I know. Have fun cleaning up and I'll see you at school," and Eli closed his phone. Clare's mom's rules were a little ridiculous, in his opinion. He wasn't allowed in her room ever and it didn't matter if they were watching a movie on the couch, once the clock hit that magic time, his ass was halfway out the door before he could even mutter a good bye. For some reason, Clare's mom never warmed up to him even though he hadn't done anything to harm Clare ever. It was frustrating to say the least, but it was what it had to be.
"Everything okay?" Holly J asked lightly as she came back to the table. Eli pulled himself from his thoughts, looking up at her. It wasn't much easier when he was with Holly J, but at least she stood up to her parents and led her own life. Clare's family was her life.
"Yeah, of course," he said as he pulled a hand through his hair, "Although, it's getting kind of late. We should probably go." He didn't want to lie to Clare anymore than he already had.
"Oh… yeah, you're right. You have school tomorrow anyway," she responded, smiling weakly. She had been enjoying her time with him so much that she had forgotten that this wasn't the summer and they couldn't just stay out all night with each other, that they weren't together.
"Do you need a ride home?" he asked suddenly as he stood from the table.
"Well, I'm staying at Fi's, so if you don't mind dropping me off there, that would be great." Eli nodded lightly but stopped as the words really hit his brain.
"Wait, why are you staying at Fi's?" he asked as they walked out of the warm café and into the frigid night. Holly J smiled a little to herself as she pulled her coat tighter.
"My dad got a new job that paid better, so my parents had to move to Niagara Falls. I made a deal that I would spend my Thanksgiving and Spring Breaks with them there if I could spend this break up here. The internship application didn't hurt either," she explained as she settled into the front seat, "Oh, I've missed Morty…" and she ran a soft hand over the dashboard. Eli smiled to himself and started up the car, turning on the defroster.
"Bet you don't miss how cold it is here," he joked. Holly J laughed lightly and shook her head.
"No, I don't really miss that, although it's not much warmer in Connecticut. There are some things about this place I do miss," she said wistfully as Eli pulled out from his parking spot, "Like, I missed The Dot. I missed my friends. I miss going shopping on Queen street and the Yorktown mall. Most of the girls wear sweat pants and hoodies to class. I miss dances and having a reason to get dressed up. That's why I'm so excited about Friday." Eli listened attentively, a tiny part of him hoping that she would say that she missed him. A bigger part of him hated that he wanted that. He was happy with Clare; being friends with Holly J changed nothing.
"Why, what's Friday?" he asked, pushing all those thoughts from his mind.
"You mean Adam hasn't told you?"
"Told me what?"
"Friday is Fiona's annual end of exams slash Christmas party."
"Oh, yeah, that. He mentioned something about it last week I think, but I didn't really think much of it. I thought it was mostly going to be Fi's friends and Clare has mass, so I wasn't planning on going," he admitted as he pulled up to the entrance to Fiona's condo. The time always seemed to go too fast when he didn't want it to. Holly J's heart sank a little when he said that he wasn't going to go. She had been hoping he would at least make an appearance so that she could see him once more this break.
"Oh… well, I mean, Adam and Drew are coming, and I'll be there, and I think Sav gets back from school that day, so it's not going to be all Fi's friends. I don't think anyone from New York is coming to this one since Fi is going down there for the actual holiday. It's her first Christmas without Declan. She really wants to be with her family." Holly J tried. Eli caught onto Holly J's insistence but it really wasn't needed.
"Sav? I haven't seen Sav since the summer either. It would be cool to see him too," he mused, smirking a little. It was one party thrown by Adam and Fiona. Holly J was just attending. Clare would understand.
"So, I'll see you there?"
"Wouldn't miss it," he answered. A wide smile spread across Holly J's face.
"Really? I guess I'll see you then," she said as she opened the car door and stepped out.
"Have a good night, Miss Sinclair," and he returned her smile. She closed the door and turned, fishing her key from her bag and letting herself into the building. Waving lightly to him, she leaned back against the closed door and bit her lip, trying to reign in her happiness. If you would have told her 24 hours ago that she would be looking forward to seeing Eli Goldsworthy again, she would have said that you let the eggnog go to your brain. She honestly didn't think that she would ever forgive him, that he could ever charm his way back into her life, but he somehow managed to do it. Taking the steps two at a time, she made her way up to Fi's condo and let herself in, her nostrils being assaulted by cinnamon.
"Whoa, did the gingerbread man throw up in here?" Holly J asked as she set her bag and coat on the couch.
"I'm trying out this cider recipe that I found before the party," Fiona responded from the kitchen.
"I thought all the food was going to be catered."
"It is, but I would like to have something made from scratch." Holly J just shook her head at her friend's party planning. At this point, Fi was an expert in the art of the party, but she always had to have one thing that could go horribly wrong. If she decided to go with this one, it could prove to take down everything.
"Fi, I'm telling you right now, not this one."
"But I only used 10 sticks of cinnamon…"
"Not this one," Holly J said firmly and Fi sighed in defeat.
"I don't even think you can taste apple anymore, to be honest," she admitted, dumping the contents of the saucepan into the sink, throwing up more spices into the air. "So, how did it go?" Holly J coughed lightly, half from choking and half to buy a little time.
"Fine. It went fine," she said plainly, going over to sit on the couch and opening her bag, taking out her papers. The less details she had to give, the better. There was no point in making people's minds wander.
"You guys were there for almost four hours. I'm going to assume things were better than 'fine," and Fi joined her on the couch, pulling the papers from her clutches.
"Don't wrinkle those! I need them," Holly J exclaimed, reaching for her application.
"Then really answer the question."
"I did. It was fine. We drank coffee and talked a little."
"Holly Jeanette Sinclair, I know you're lying. You don't talk a little for four hours unless you were doing something else…" Holly J sat back, slightly offended. Did Fi really think that she would do anything with Eli?
"We talked and it was good. Really good and I was sad that he had to leave. He's coming to the party on Friday. Are you happy now?" Holly J loudly admitted. She hated Fi for pulling it out of her. If she didn't admit it, it wouldn't be real. Fiona blinked at her but didn't return the papers.
"You like him again, don't you?"
She didn't have to answer it. She could just get up and walk into her room, retiring for the night. Fi would leave the papers on the coffee table and they would forget this ever happened. She could silently have her crush and no one would need to know. No one would get hurt and in four weeks, all these feelings could go away once and for all. Holly J had spent the last four months thinking of him, reasoning that it was because she was so hurt by him. She found out today, though, that an apology from him didn't mean nearly as much to her as simply being near him did.
"He's with Clare, Holly J."
"Yeah, I know. I am very much aware that he's with Clare," she snapped. Fiona silently took Holly J's anger, just watching her friend. "Sorry, I just… nothing happened and nothing's going to happen. But, that doesn't mean he and I can't be friends. Besides, it's just a party. We'll hang out, laugh, eat, drink, and be merry. It'll be fine. I'll be fine."
Maybe if she told herself that enough, she would believe it.
A/N: As we all know very well, if it involves the students of Degrassi gathering together in celebration, something has to go wrong…. Thanks for reading, even you, hater anon. So many of you are really amazing and I feel so blessed that you keep coming back and even defending me. See you next week!
