A/N: This story is going to be a bit more Clare centric then I originally thought mainly cause I want to bring KC in. Also Adam is going to get his own story line! I am extremely disappointed once again in the treatment of Eli's character, but what can ya do. In relation to my story, there was no car accident. Eli and Clare had that fight over the phone, but the car wasn't involved. Don't ask me how that makes sense I just don't want him to get rid of the car because of her and like that. Lol. The next chapter is much longer and after that things start to pick up, but first we have to get the ball rolling!
By the way, I totally lied when I said I haven't written a Degrassi story. I forgot I did a Life with Derek/ Degrassi crossover! Miss those stories! Thanks for the reviews so far and keep them up!
Disclaimer- I do not own anything but Theresa who I would gladly let them borrow.
"Hey Eli, Adam," Clare said with a smile as she stood awkawardly next to their lunch table. For the first few days she had eaten with Jake, but now she was going to attempt to bridge the gap.
"Mind if I sit?" she asked. Adam and Eli looked at each other quickly then at Clare.
"Yeah!"
"Sure!"
Clare sat down nervously with her two friends but was saved immediately by Alli, who plopped down next to her without a word.
"Hey guys," she said cheerfully to Adam and Eli, who both smiled. Eli and Adam both seemed unsure of what to say so the four sat together in silence as they awkwardly ate.
"Thank God it's Friday right," Alli said and Clare smiled at her best friend gratefully.
"Casual Friday nonetheless," Adam pointed out.
This semester Mr. Simpson was allowing them to have casual Fridays which were a nice break from the mundane dullness of their uniforms. As Eli sat there, he heard a sound that made him look up around attempting to find the source. A few tables away Theresa was sitting with Katie and Marisol and sure enough, she was laughing. Julia had dubbed Theresa's laugh a tilted laugh because the longer she laughed, the louder it got. From what Eli had seen, Theresa was fitting in beautifully at Degrassi, but he had expected that. She had embraced casual Friday as well. Her white eyelet blouse with blue jeans seemed so opposite of his black skinny jeans and Dead hand shirt.
"Theresa seems nice."
Eli tore his eyes from Theresa to Clare, who was watching him. He looked down at his pizza.
"Yeah. She is," Eli finally said.
"How did you know her?" Clare asked. Eli debated with himself for a moment before he answered but decided the truth was the best way to go.
"She was Julia's sister, stepsister I should say," Eli said, wincing at his own use of the past tense. Saying her name, especially to Clare, felt odd like he was committing a taboo.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Clare said and he could tell she regretted bringing up the topic, but for some reason he didn't.
"Don't be," Eli said as he looked at Clare's blushing face.
"Were they close?" Clare asked and she was surprised when a genuine smile lit up Eli's face.
"Oh yeah. They were best friends," Eli answered.
"She seems so…different than what you described Julia to be," Clare said.
"Trust me, they were completely different. They were the sun and the moon, but still best friends," Eli said not able to stop himself from smiling even bigger as he glanced once more at the brunette who was just tables away, her tilted laughing growing more audible with each moment.
As KC stared across the cafeteria, he dropped his spoon into his pudding.
"Dude, you all right?" Dave asked his friend. KC tore his eyes away from Clare, where she sat with Adam, Alli, and Eli.
"I thought Eli and Clare broke up," he said to Dave who shrugged dismissively.
"They did. Last I heard Jake is interested in Clare," Dave responded.
"Great," KC said sarcastically.
"So I guess it's really over between you and Jenna?"
"Yeah. I need…a fresh start. I need to fix everything. When Jenna came things got really messed up, but this year, well this year things are going to get better. First thing I need to do is get Clare to be my friend again," KC explained. Dave couldn't help but smirk at his friend.
"Well if you just want Clare to be your friend again then I guess it won't really matter who she is or isn't dating," Dave pointed out and KC smiled self consciously.
"Right, I guess it doesn't really matter," he said as he went back to his lunch avoiding his friend's knowing eyes.
Theresa stood in the doorway of Ms. Dawes, bracing herself. She had been here a full week, but she had yet to say a single word to Eli other than on that first day. Today was different though. Today, she was going to make a real effort. She held her books close to her as she walked into the room where Eli, Adam, and Clare already sat. She set her books down before she sat. She turned in her seat and looked at Eli, who was staring at the assignment in front of him.
"So, I see you are still digging the mortician style," she said. He looked up slowly and a smirk worked its way across his face.
"Some things never change," he retorted and she smiled.
"Like that hearse," she said.
"I almost forgot. Morty creeps you out," Eli said as he leaned back with a grin.
"Who does Morty not creep out except maybe Julia," she said. Saying her name to Eli caused a pang, but she ignored it because he smiled. The smile encouraged her to continue.
"I remember when you showed up at our house with that thing. You were so proud of yourself. She loved it, too. The car and the look on your face, how happy it made you," Theresa said. It felt good talking about Julia this way, without feeling like her chest was going to cave in.
"You were far from impressed though. I think your exact words were 'I will never ever go anywhere in that thing'," Eli quipped, "Although you ended up eating your own words."
"Once and that was because I didn't want to be late," Theresa protested.
"Best car ride ever," Eli said and Theresa rolled her eyes before turning around. Eli smiled as he looked over at Adam who was watching him, an amused look on his face. Eli shrugged as he looked at the board. Talking to Theresa about Julia, that was easy. He didn't feel like Theresa was judging him, looking for a sign of mental breakdown.
At the end of class, Eli stayed in his seat as everyone around him moved.
"So how are your parents?" he asked as Theresa slowly turned. He knew Adam and Clare were listening, but he didn't care.
"They're good…happier now that we moved. They thought it was a good idea…a fresh start," she said.
"And…how are you?" he asked tentatively and she smiled halfheartedly.
"I'm alright," she answered, "What about you?"
"I'm working on it," he answered.
"Aren't we all," she said with a smile before walking away. Clare hurried after her while Eli let out a deep breath. Those last few moments were harder than talking about Julia because Julia was what they knew. Talking about themselves, how they were, talking about now, that was harder. Those answers were a lot harder to predict.
Clare didn't say a word as she walked next to Theresa. When she was about to they rounded the corner and Theresa made her second collision of the week.
"Oh lord," she groaned as once again her things were sent flying.
"I'm so sorry," a tall brunette said as he knelt next to her. She met his eyes and as she did she smiled. There was no denying it. He was cute.
"Don't worry about it. I'm used to people bumping into me. It's how I meet people," she said as she gathered her things. As they stood up, he introduced himself.
"I'm Mark, Mark Fitzgerald, but you can call me Fitz," he said.
"I'm Theresa." Fitz seemed to register the fact that Clare was there then and smiled at her.
"Hey Clare, didn't you see there," he said.
"Hey Fitz. How's your first week back going?" she asked.
"Good, good," he retorted. For a few moments, the three stood there awkwardly.
"Well I should get going, but it was nice bumping into you Theresa," he said.
"Nice bumping into you, too. We need to do it again sometime," she said with a smile as he started to walk away.
"Yeah, definitely," he said grinning. Theresa and Clare started walking again.
"So Fitz…," Theresa said.
"Is a nice guy. He had a tough year, but he's turned a new leaf," Clare said.
"So first week was a success," Bullfrog said.
"I would say so," Eli answered as he picked up his hamburger.
"You and Clare ok?" Cece, asked with a concerned look on her face.
"Yeah…we're alright. We all ate lunch together today…me, Clare, Adam, and Alli," he told them, earning a smile.
"That's good. That's really good," Cece said as she took a bite of her pasta. Eli considered what he was going to say next for a few moments. He had been considering it for days, but knew that he eventually had to tell them.
"Do you remember Julia's sister, Theresa? I think you guys met her a couple times," Eli said as he placed his dinner down. He saw his parents exchange a look, but ignored it.
"Yeah…," Bullfrog said after clearing his throat.
"She was a really sweet girl from what I remember," Cece added and Eli smiled at the idea of the only thing they remembered was her sweetness.
"She goes to Degrassi now. She's in my English class," Eli told them and immediately the worry increased tenfold.
"Has she said anything to you?" Cece asked.
"Yeah…we talked today actually. She's still as sweet as ever," he admitted.
"Well that's good," Bullfrog said as he went back to eating. Cece didn't look as satisfied with the answer as her husband did though.
"If it gets too hard…being around her, you let us know. We'll talk to Mr. Simpson. We can get you switched out of that class," Cece said.
"No," he said shaking his head. The only thing worse than being around Theresa would be avoiding her. She was undoubtedly the easiest person to talk to about Julia…perhaps about anything…
The idea that Clare was in that class also hadn't escaped his brain.
"Everything will be fine. Theresa's too nice to make me feel uncomfortable," he told them, looking away as he did. He wondered for a moment whether his mother was worried about his feelings or whether perhaps she was considering Theresa's. He considered for a moment that maybe Theresa wouldn't want to be around him.
Across town, Theresa lay on her stomach on her bed. She was staring at the picture on the floor where it sat propped up.
"So Eli is still the same, perhaps a bit calmer and less sarcastic or that might just because he's nervous I might lunge at him or something. That's so not me though," Theresa said. She stared for a few moments before starting up again.
"Although if you had told me that I could make Eli Goldsworthy nervous two years ago, I would tell you that you were crazy," she said with a laugh.
"However, I might be crazy now…I am talking to a picture…"
A/N: Hope you liked it! Next chapter will be up by Wednesday! Hope people are reading! Feedback is encouraged!
