Angel Watching Over Me
A/N: This chapter has Clare/JT bonding. And Clare, Jake, and JT(who nobody but Clare can see) going to visit JT's friends. Oh, and a long time ago, I read that Jiberty's baby's adopted parents, named him Fester. Well, not in this fic. Jiberty's child isn't going to be named after someone from the Addams Family(even if I love the show/movies). His name is Ryan.
Part Three
Jake raised an eyebrow and stared at Clare. "You want me to drive you, where?" He spit out, sounding beyond shocked.
"I already told you." She stated, impatiently. "I want to go and see JT's old friends. It will be good for my story."
Her boyfriend swallowed hard, staring down at his plate of pancakes. "Clare..." He trailed off, warningly.
"What?" Clare asked, voice breaking as she gazed at him.
"This isn't healthy for you. I get that you want to do this JT guy justice, but I hate seeing you so upset. And don't you think it will be a little hard on his friends? They probably don't want to be reminded of this." Jake replied.
"Doesn't JT's story deserve to be told?" She countered, crossing her arms under her chest.
He didn't answer, just stared down at the floor.
"I want people to know what happened to him. I want them to know what type of person, that he is. I can't do that, if I don't talk to his friends. Nothing online has anything really informative, about him. Please Jake. Please?" Clare pleaded, giving him a pout, eyes shining with tears.
"Okay." Jake agreed. "Go up and get ready. We can leave in a half hour."
She squealed and jumped up from her seat, hugging Jake tightly. "Thank you." She murmured, cupping his face in her hands, and pressing her lips to his. She turned on her heel and hurried up the stairs, to her room.
"So, that Jake guy is your boyfriend?" JT asked, smiling goofily at her, from his spot on her bed. "And your parents don't know?" He laughed a bit, brown eyes sparkling.
She flushed, moving over to him and punching his shoulder, gently. "Shut up." She whined. Then she turned serious, sitting beside of him. "I got him to agree to take me, to see your friends."
He gave her a grateful smile. "I know. I heard you two, down there." He told Clare, carefully.
"I've gotta get ready, because we're leaving in a half-hour." Clare stated, staring at him.
JT stared at her blankly, feeling slightly amused as she glared at him impatiently. "Well, go ahead. I'm not stopping you." He answered playfully, falling back to lie on the bed, resting his hands on his stomach. He grinned impishly as he stared up at the ceiling.
She rolled her eyes and glared at him pointedly. "Could you please leave, just for fifteen minutes?"
"Whatever you want, Lois Lane." He replied playfully, standing up and getting ready to disappear. "But just know, I can make it so I can't be seen." He smirked at her annoyed look, as he disappeared. He knew full well that she knew that he wouldn't do that. He just liked to tease her. He was still a class clown, after all.
Clare hurried out of her house and to Jake's truck. She stopped short when she saw JT already standing there, leaning up against it.
"What are you staring at, Clare?" Jake questioned, voice filled with confusion as he walked out of the house, staring down at her.
She shook her head and gave a nervous grin. "Um...no reason." She told him, swallowing hard. She couldn't help but wonder, how exactly she was supposed to act normal with JT there.
They climbed into the car and Jake immediatly reached to turn the radio on. "So, who are we supposed to visit first?" He questioned, turning his head just slightly, when they'd stopped infront of a red light.
Clare shrugged. "I was thinking maybe Emma Nelson-well, Emma Mason. I know that she apparently has an apartment, about two and a half hours, away."
Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow. "And who's she?"
"She was one of JT's childhood best friends. It was her childhood home, that he died at." Clare said sadly, turning to gaze out the window.
"That's horrible." Jake muttered under his breath.
She nodded sadly. "I can't imagine how it was for them. To have to see him like that. I mean, I don't want to bring up old wounds, but this is important to me. I want to do JT justice. Maybe people can learn something from him."
"What are you hoping that people will learn?" He inquired.
Clare turned back to look at Jake, feeling JT appear in the seat, beside of her. "To learn that rivalries aren't worth it." Her voice broke as she spoke. "JT died, because of a rivalry between Lakehurst and Degrassi. The rivalry still continued, afterwards. There are more important things than that. People need to know what they stand to lose."
JT stared at her from his spot. If one person could learn from his mistakes, he'd be grateful. He'd died for no reason. The love of his life, his grandmother, and his best friends all had to lose him in some horrible way. He'd never grow or watch his child grow up, or get married. He wouldn't be the man that Liberty married. He was stuck, watching it all happen. It was hell. No one should have to go through that. Maybe with Clare getting his story out there, they wouldn't have to.
"Is this where Emma's apartment is?" Jake inquired.
Clare nodded. "She and her husband, Spinner apparently moved here, after they got married a couple of years ago."
Jake's brows furrowed. "Didn't you say that Spinner dated Darcy?"
"Yeah." She answered. "But they haven't been together, for years. She was with Peter Stone, before she went to Kenya. You've met him, remember? He works at The Dot. He became the manager, after Spinner left. We should go and talk to her, before I lose my nerve."
Emma laughed, throwing her long blonde hair, over a tanned shoulder. Her and Spinner's friends, Manny and Jay were visiting. Manny had just finished a movie, and was staying here, for a few days. They, along with Toby, and Liberty were planning on travelling back to their hometown, for the anniversary of JT's death. They were going to all reconnect and celebrate his life. It was something that they'd done for years, now. Just then, a soft knock sounded on the apartment door, and Emma stood up to answer it. Perhaps it was the takeout that they'd ordered. She stopped short after opening the door, staring at the petite teenage girl, with curly, light brown hair and blue eyes, standing there with a tall, plaid-clad guy. "Um...can I hope you?" She inquired, narrowing her eyes at them.
"I'm Clare Edwards. This is my boyfriend, Jake. May I please come in? I need to talk to you about something, really important." The teenage girl inquired, shuffling nervously, in the doorway.
"Baby Edwards?" Spinner said, sounding shocked, stepping up to stand beside his wife. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Darcy?" He knew that he sounded panicked, but he couldn't help it. Darcy was a good friend of his. Why else would Clare be here, if not for Darcy?"
Clare's blue eyes widened and shook her head wildly. "NO! No. My sister is fine! I'm sorry. Darcy's happy, in Kenya. I should've been more specific. I'm here about JT Yorke." Her attention turned to Emma, taking in the sad look that came onto her face.
"Why do you want to talk about him?" She asked, sounding a little bit angry.
"If you'd let us come in, I'll explain." The younger girl answered, staring up at Emma.
Emma stared at her for a few moments, before stepping aside. She couldn't help but wonder what this girl had to say. She seemed pretty intent on talking about JT.
To be continued...