A/N: This chapter doesn't include heavy lemon…sorry: P However it is rather romantic if I do say so myself! Feat. Halo by Beyonce! Enjoy, R&R!
"NO WAYY!" Alli screamed, jumping up and down on Clare's bed.
"Jeez Alli calm down!" Clare yelled, blushing.
"I'm sorry; I just can't believe you're going to have sex! Well, in a way you actually already have." Alli said, winking and punching Clare in the arm.
"I did not...just oral. That doesn't count." Clare said, her face redder than anything.
"Well I guess since it was you giving it it doesn't really count for you." She agreed, shrugging. "But I can't believe you would even do as much as you've done Clare!"
"Neither would I...but I'm so comfortable with Eli and I just...want him." She said, giggling a little at her bluntness. "And it's not like we're friends with benefits or something sleazy like that...we love each other. And I think that makes this okay."
Alli nodded animatedly. "Definitely. Clare, it's obvious that your both crazy about each other, I don't think anyone would be surprised if you two had sex. Frankly, I think if anyone else was in your situation they would've done it long ago." Alli said, laughing.
"Yeah...but I don't want to rush things. Do you think this is rushed?"
"Not really. I mean, sure you've only been dating for about two months, but with all that's happened between you guys you might as well have been together for years."
"That's what I think too." Clare said.
"And in reality, you guys have been head over heels in love since that day in the parking lot, which technically makes you an item of four months." Alli said and draped her bangs over one eye and attempted to smirk. "You have pretty eyes." She mimicked Eli and earned a slap in the arm from Clare.
"Oh shut up." She said, but she was laughing.
"So...when and where exactly is the deflowerization of Saint Clare going to occur?" Alli asked, and Clare stuck out her tongue.
"Well...I'm assuming at his place. His room is almost clean, and there's really no way we could do it here. Plus, he does have a double bed." She said, laughing inwardly at the memory of his mother basically trying to pimp him out to her.
"That sounds nice. So when?" Alli pried; she was determined to get all her details.
"I was thinking maybe this upcoming Friday night...I could spend the weekend at his house and tell my parents I was staying with you."
Alli nodded, perfectly okay with being used as a cover up. "But what about his parents?"
Clare snorted. "I don't they'll have a problem with it. And anyways, his dad has a pretty busy job so they might be out of the house."
"I hope they're out of the house...can you say awkward if they aren't?" Alli said, laughing.
"Well...I'm pretty sure that even if they don't have any plans they'll be happy to leave me and Eli alone at the house."
Alli's eyes widened at this. "I wish my parents were that chill."
Clare just laughed.
"So...you're really ready?" Alli asked, still in shock.
Clare took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes." She said softly. She was in shock too.
"So what does Eli think about this plan?"
"I...haven't told him yet." Clare admitted, the blush seeping back into her cheeks.
"So what are you planning on doing, surprising him?" Alli asked giggling.
Clare glared.
"No. I was thinking...maybe I could tell him tomorrow at lunch. Or later today if I see him."
"That'd be good. Give him about five days notice. Or who knows, maybe knowing this soon will make his balls turn blue in anticipation of the big event." Alli squealed, laughing hysterically.
"Shut up you pervert." Clare said, shoving Alli. "The Big Event", she thought...it certainly would be.
"Spit it out dude." Adam said, shaking Eli's shoulders as they sat on his couch.
"Since when did you start acting like a girl?" Eli asked, and although his sarcastic remark was ironic and could've been taken offensively, Adam didn't mind, him and Eli were so close it didn't matter.
"Since I'm never going to get a girlfriend, you're my only way to know about the pleasures of dating." He said.
"One, you will get a girlfriend someday. And two, you make me sound like a porn source." Eli said, making a face.
"Oh shut up and just spill." Adam said, rolling his eyes.
"How do you know there's anything to spill?" Eli asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Because I saw the way you and Clare were acting earlier today, and I'm not stupid. You guys did something yesterday, after your therapy session."
Eli smirked at the memory of their time in the hearse and Adam cracked a smile.
"I knew it." He said, satisfied.
"Fine. You want all the gory details?" Eli said sarcastically.
"Not all the details bro." Adam said chuckling. Eli laughed too.
"Okay...well...she gave me a blow job." Eli said, staring at Adam to see what his reaction would be.
His jaw dropped. "Clare Edwards...gave you a blow job?" He said, disbelievingly.
"Was she that much of a prude before I came around that no one would suspect her of such things?" Eli asked, amused at Adam's reaction.
"Well from what people say I guess she must've been." Adam said, shrugging, then punched Eli on the shoulder. "Dude! Way to go bro, damn."
Eli smirked and looked away. "You're ridiculous." He said.
"You're blushing." Adam teased.
"Am not."
"Does Clare make you nervous?" Adam taunted.
"No. I mean, why should I be nervous? I'm not the one who's a virgin..." Eli said, trailing off. He wasn't really nervous for himself, he was nervous for Clare. He wanted everything to feel just as good for her as it did for him. And he didn't want her to regret it; that was his worst fear. His first time with Julia (when they had both lost their virginities) had been a little spur of the moment and without much thought. He was almost positive that she'd regretted it afterwards, and he did too. Eventually sex became a normal thing between them but he couldn't shake the fact that their first time had been all wrong.
He didn't want it to be that way for Clare. He would never admit this to Adam, maybe not even to Clare, but he didn't feel like he deserved to be her first time. He felt like she deserved the perfect prince of her wildest day dreams to come and marry her and sweep her off her feet. She would just laugh and tell him he was her prince if he ever told her that, but he knew he was far from the perfect fairytale boyfriend.
Most girls fantasize about a strapping prince riding in a horse-drawn carriage, not a gothic hoarder driving a hearse.
Eli's train of thought was interrupted by Adam.
"She so makes you nervous." He said, giggling. Eli shoved him.
"Just shut up dude."
"Fine, fine. But you guys…wow. You're so cute it's almost disgusting. Actually, it is disgusting." Adam said, making a face and then laughing.
"When you finally get a girlfriend you don't know how much I'll rag on you." Eli said, smirking mischievously.
"Like that's gonna happen." Adam snorted.
"Hey guys." They both turned to see Adam's brother Drew walk into the living room.
"Hey Drew, what's up?" Adam asked.
Drew grinned. "We've been invited to a party tonight." He said, and his smile grew wider.
"Really? Where?" Adam asked.
"The Coyne's." Eli smiled then too and looked at Adam who was dumbfounded.
"Really? Why? And how do you know?" He questioned, getting a little flustered.
"She just called me and invited us. She said that she thought you might hate her for ditching your party, so she didn't want to risk calling you." He said, wiggling his eyebrows. "She likes you bro."
"She does not. She would've come to my party if she did." Adam said, refusing to get his hopes up.
"Not necessarily dude, I mean you never know what could've come up." Eli pitched in.
"Whatever. So who all is going?"
Drew shrugged. "She said anyone is welcome."
Adam turned to Eli. "You wanna go?"
Eli made a face. "Not really my style."
Adam's phone beeped and he read the text message, smirking. "I just saw Fiona's facebook invitation to the party. You going? Eli and I will be there for you if you are." He read Clare's message out loud.
Eli shook his head and chuckled. "I guess I am going." They all laughed and then Adam went to go look for something nice to wear.
Drew switched his weight from foot to foot, standing there awkwardly since him and Eli weren't exactly friends.
"So, you're with Clare Edwards huh?" Drew finally said, trying to make conversation.
Eli nodded. "Yup. You know her at all?"
"She's Alli's best friend, so I've heard stuff about her. All good things." Drew said, grinning.
Eli smirked. "That's Clare."
"Well she seems like a great girl . Way to go." Drew said.
"Thanks, and I know she is."
She really is. Eli murmured to himself.
"Dude, would you just calm down?" Eli said to Adam who wouldn't stop fixing his tie.
"But I need to look perfect for Fiona!" Adam responded nervously. They were standing outside Fiona's door.
Eli rolled his eyes. "You look fine."
"Yeah right, I can't tie a tie for my life." Adam snorted.
"No really Adam, you look great. And you don't look too bad either Goldsworthy."
Both boys turned at the sound of Clare's voice, and Eli's jaw dropped.
She was wearing a bright red dress with spaghetti straps that went down to just above her knees. It hugged her body in all the right places and went perfectly with her vibrant hair (which was straightened for the evening) and bright blue eyes. She wore a simple pearl necklace that hung just over her cleavage. Her very good cleavage, Eli thought.
"You look beautiful." Eli said, walking over and hugging her. She kissed him on the cheek and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thank you." She murmured.
"Yo love birds, kind freaking out here!" Adam said while frantically running his hands through his hair.
"Don't worry Adam. Fiona invited you over, didn't she?" Clare said, patting Adam on the shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about."
They didn't have any more time to discuss the matter because Fiona opened her door.
"Hi guys, good of you to come." She said politely to Eli and Clare, and then she saw Adam.
"Hey!" She said, beaming as she wrapped Adam into a hug.
Adam patted her back with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Hey Fi, good to see you too." Adam said, and he pulled away to smile at the girl who he had a gigantic crush on. "You look amazing."
"Why thank you Prince Adam!" Fiona replied. "I'm sorry I missed your party, but we'll talk more about that later. Right now I need someone to escort me to the dance floor." Fiona asked, looking at Adam expectantly.
Adam smiled wider than anything and held his arm out and Fiona linked hers through his.
Adam turned around to look at Eli and Clare. Eli gave him the thumbs up and Clare just smiled.
"Aww." She said. "Adam's such a sweetie, I hope Fiona doesn't break his heart." She said, putting her hand on her chest.
"Please." Eli said, chuckling and grabbing her hand. "C'mon, let's go join the prince and princess on the dance floor."
Clare happily obliged.
Fiona's home was really nice, and there was plenty of room to dance. Clare recognized a few other people at the party but mainly just hung out with Eli. He got her a drink and then walked her to a love seat a little ways away from the floor.
He sat down and she cuddled close to him; he draped his arm around her.
"This party is almost as good as Adam's." He said.
Clare nodded. "I know. I can't believe we've been to two awesome parties in only a few weeks."
"I know. I feel so out of character." Eli said, chuckling.
Clare set her drink down on a coffee table and intertwined her fingers with Eli's.
"I'm really proud of you."
Eli smirked and looked down at her. "Thank you? That was unexpected."
"I was just thinking of all the things you've had to deal with…and how well you've managed. You're a real trooper." Clare said, kissing him lightly on the neck. He shivered.
"I'd be nothing without you." Clare looked up at him and smiled. They leaned in to kiss and before they knew it their tongues were intertwined.
Clare thought that maybe this would be a good time to tell him.
"Eli…" She started, pulling away from the kiss and taking both of his hands in hers.
"Mm?" Eli murmured, looking her in the eyes. Clare was nervous so she looked down at their hands.
She took a deep breath. "I'm ready." She whispered.
It took a moment before Eli knew what she meant, and then his eyes widened. "Really?"
Clare nodded. "I feel comfortable with everything we did in the hearse yesterday and…I'm ready to take the next step. I really love you Eli." She whispered.
"Clare…you don't have to do this."
She looked him in the eyes, blushing a little. "But I want to Eli. I really do this time. I mean…we're bonded so closely together emotionally… I'd like to make our bond physical too." She whispered, her face getting redder every second and she looked down again.
Eli gently tilted her chin up and looked her in the eyes. "You're sure, Clare?"
"I am sure." She answered.
Eli couldn't see any doubts in her eyes, just a little nervousness.
"I was thinking…maybe I could come stay over this weekend?" She proposed.
Eli nodded. "Yeah, that would be great. My room's almost done, so we won't feel closed in." He said.
"Yeah, will your parents be okay with it?" She asked, then laughed a little. "That was stupid for me to ask wasn't it?"
Eli laughed too. "Yup, I'm pretty sure they'll be cool with it. In fact, they were thinking of going to stay in the city some weekend this month, maybe I can convince them to do that this weekend."
"That would be good." Clare said.
Eli nodded and then started quietly talking to himself. "I'm sure I can. And I'll have enough time to clean even more of my room up before. Yup, it'll work fine." He said, then looked at Clare, smiling.
Clare smiled back.
"And you've been on the pill long enough?" Eli asked.
Clare nodded. "Yes. And we'll use condoms too won't we?" She asked.
"Of course. You don't have to worry about anything, I'll make the night perfect for you." He vowed.
Clare's face flushed red and she kissed him softly. "Thank you."
Eli just smirked. "So…would you like to dance?"
Clare made a face of mock surprise. "To a romantic slow song? Would you really?"
Eli smirked and stood up from the couch, extending his hand to Clare.
"Twist my rubber arm girl friend."
Clare grinned and grabbed his hand.
The party was nearly over so there weren't many people on the dance floor. Adam and Fiona had been dancing a lot, but they were sitting this one out, chatting animatedly. Adam looked happier than Clare or Eli had ever seen him before.
"Halo" by Beyonce was playing and most of the remaining people sat down since it wasn't exactly a group dance song, and there weren't many couples at the party.
Eli however led Clare straight to the center of the dance floor.
She blushed and he smirked. "Embarrassed to be scene dancing with the emo boy?" He asked.
"You know I'd never be." She replied, grinning and kissing him softly on the lips.
Eli picked up one of her hands and held it at eye level, then placed his other hand on her waist. Clare smirked at how classic Eli was acting and rested her free hand on his shoulder.
They glided around the floor, Eli suavely leading, and Clare's blush remained because she knew people were staring. But once she got lost in Eli's mesmerizing green eyes, she really couldn't care less.
He let go of her hand only to wrap both arms around her waist and pull her close. She laid her hands on his upper back.
"Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace. Baby I can see your halo. You know you're my saving grace."
Clare was startled as Eli sang the words softly into her ear.
"I can see your Halo Edwards." He whispered, his smirk turning into a smile as he kissed her lightly on the neck.
"Eli…" She whispered, pulling him even closer to her and resting her head on his shoulder.
He moved one of his hands up her body and started rubbing her back.
"You're my angel Clare." He whispered.
She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, since they were wet and she didn't want to cry at a party.
"I love you Eli. So much."
"I love you too Clare."
They danced till the very end of the song, never opening their eyes, completely lost in each other.