I would never, ever, ever, ever for never-ever betray my faithful fans like this and simply leave them hanging...especially with an awesome EClare that follows right about...NOW! Carry on my ladies and germs and do please tell me what you think;) :
ELI'S POV:
After Clare's slightly painful rejection, I decided that it was for the best if I just stopped any attempts to become friends with her again, since she obviously was too busy with Jake. Besides, it would prevent my getting hurt again by her. After I had totaled Morty, my beloved car, I realized that my recklessness (for Clare's love, of course) cost me the life of my hearse. And getting rejected by her now only reminded of what had happened last year. Besides, I had Fiona, Adam and my new bike to keep me occupied. I didn't need her…right?
Wrong.
Unfortunately for me, Mr. Lockwood is very unaware of the partly-horrible history between Clare and me; therefore we are forced to work together in English. It's not that I hate working with her, it's just that working requires talking to your partner…making it hard to keep the mental promise I made.
And even more unfortunate, Mr. Lockwood chooses today, a lovely Friday morning, of all days of the week to work with Clare. It's been almost two weeks since I last spoke with Clare (meaning when she had turned me down), and then out of nowhere, I hear my English teacher speak up.
"Okay, I know that it's been a while since you last worked with your partners, especially in class, so why don't you take out the packet for Wuthering Heights and answer the questions…with your partner," Mr. Lockwood was standing in front of the class, wearing a shirt so vivid in color it distracted me. He was smiling cheerfully, as if making us work on a Friday morning was the best thing next to vacationing in Florida.
"You may now begin." He said, sitting down in his chair, taking a sip from his water bottle. The sound of chairs squeaking against the floors and papers rustling surrounded the normally peaceful atmosphere of the classroom. I got my stuff together and picked up my chair, making my way to my partner, who sat in her desk quietly. Her chin was propped up on her fist and she was looking away from me at the window, deeply lost in thought.
"Hello there, partner," I said, trying to sound cheerful. She didn't look towards me. In fact, she didn't even acknowledge me. I wondered if she was ignoring me or if she, at some point during the summer, went partially deaf. I sighed, slightly perturbed. "CLARE!"
She jumped in her seat and looked towards me, a dazed look on her face, "Eli. Sorry, em…how long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough," I said, placing my chair down in front of her desk before sitting down. "Now, we should probably get started before Lockwood gets ticked."
"Right," She said, taking out her packet, a lost look etched deeply on her face. I resisted the urge to ask her what's wrong. "So…what are we doing, again?"
I felt mortified. This couldn't possibly be the Clare Edwards, the smart, perfect, attentive, Christian girl I had fallen in love with last year. It couldn't be.
Clare suddenly gave me an alarmed look and I felt my cheeks turn crimson-I had spent the last seconds staring at her pretty face!
I cleared my throat, "Um, we're just supposed to answer the questions on the packet. Number one says…'why has Catherine become distant from Heathcliff?' So...is it because she has become close to Edgar?"
Clare simply nodded, not even paying attention to me or looking at her packet. She simply sighed and looked out the window. Could the window honestly be that interesting? I looked for myself and saw the janitor raking leaves outside. Nothing too interesting. I felt myself getting irritated, not only because Clare wasn't concentrating…but because I couldn't help but stare at her. Her and her beautiful ivory skin, simply taunting me with desire and those pale blue eyes unlike a color I had ever seen and-ah shit! Look at me, Eli Goldsworthy, getting all stupid and Shakespeare- like! I sucked in air through my teeth.
"Clare, are you feeling well?"
She looked at me, blue eyes filled with outrage, "I'm feeling fine! It's just I can't concentrate and-look it's Friday! Can you blame me if I don't feel like doing work?" Her face turned red with shock, as though it was a sin to tell me how she felt.
I raised an eyebrow. Even though Clare and I don't talk anymore, I still haven't forgotten her personality, meaning I could tell when she was lying. She sighed, defeated.
"Eli, let's just say a lot is happening and I ju-just can't do schoolwork!" She threw down her pen and leaned back in her chair, face hidden by her hands. I pursed my lips, picking out what I said next carefully. Since I'm not exactly friends with Clare, it's back to square one: a simple, amiable conversation.
"You know what I do when I get angry, or when I can't concentrate?"
"I don't know, you bike?" She answered, half-heartedly.
"Yeah, but that's not what I was thinking: you ever been bowling, Clare?"
She looked at me with her dilated eyes and I thought for a second, she was going to laugh.
"You go bowling? How can that help?" She asked, although she looked genuinely interested.
"I don't know, it just does! Better to take your anger out against the pins on the lane than some innocent person…or car, for that matter," I said. About the car, a few weeks ago, I unexpectedly went crazy and broke our neighbor's car's window. Needless to say, I spent the week fixing it and before that, I lost my temper with Adam during a videogame and I chased him out of my house. It took days to convince him I was okay before he would come back to my house. My dad decided I needed something to help me with my bipolarity, so he took me bowling.
"Well, are there any bowling alleys around here?" Clare asked. Now, she looked fascinated.
"Yeah, but I'm sure Jake knows. Ask him to take you," I offered. At the sound of Jake's name, Clare's face fell and I immediately regretted bringing him up. But I couldn't help but wonder if something was up. I saw them in the hallways and they looked pretty happy to me. Still, I didn't bother asking.
"He can't tonight. He has, uh, carpentry class," She said.
"Shame…well, you'd have a lot of fun, trust me," I reassured her.
"Well, if you know where the nearest one is, maybe you and I could-"
She abruptly stopped her sentence and looked up. Standing there, in front of us was an angry-looking Mr. Lockwood. His frown grew as he looked at our empty, paper.
"Well, I guess you two have homework this weekend," He said, giving us an evil smile before walking away. I looked at Clare, expecting a disappointed, embarrassed look on her face. Instead, a giggle escaped her throat, her ears and cheeks turning red. I smiled at her, and she returned the smile.
I returned to my desk, an air of new confidence surrounding me. I was finally able to have a…good conversation with my ex. As I packed up for my next class, I wondered what it was she was going to ask me before our annoying English teacher interrupted her. Could she have wanted to ask me-no, it couldn't be. Was she gonna ask me to take her bowling? I shook my head. Clare couldn't possible want to move this fast with me, despite this being only our...third conversation. Or could she?
CLARE'S POV:
I can't believe I almost asked Eli to take me bowling that morning! Guilt coiled throughout my entire body for the rest of the day like heated springs. What am I doing? I have a boyfriend, who at the moment, was sitting next to me in his big, red truck. I couldn't simply ask Eli to take me bowling, especially without a reason. But the memory of how well we conversed today made me wonder, if all that magic and love our relationship was, never went away. I mentally slapped myself. How could I think such nasty thoughts when I was with Jake?
When I arrived home, I quickly said good –bye to Jake and bolted to my house. I looked around, once I got inside, and saw my mother wasn't home. Probably still with Glen. A bitter taste developed in my tongue. I took off my sneakers and placed my bag on the floor. Frustrated, I leaned against the door, sliding down next to it. I buried my face in my knees. I'm not a girl who simply…falls for her ex after one good conversation? I'm not a promiscuous girl like Alli, or Jenna. I'm Clare Diana Edwards and I have my morals.
Oh, but just the way Eli looked at me, it made me feel so…special. I felt like I was original, unique, not just some common girl to be tossed aside. I pulled out my phone and flipped through my contacts. And sure enough, clear as day, Eli's name was punched into my contacts. Never erased. I got up and ran to my bedroom, closing the door behind me. I changed into some comfortable clothes, but not before finding a small, folded up, old note. It was from Jake:
I know I saw you this morning, but I still think of you every class. Have lunch with me :).
I balled it up in my fist. Even looking at a note from Jake made me feel terrible about my encounter with Eli. Turning towards my waste-basket, I watched as it sailed through air from my hand, before falling a few inches short of the basket. I got up and tossed it into the waste-basket, but not before spotting what looked like an old photo, hidden by the paper trash. Bending down, I fished it out and saw it was an old photo of Adam, Eli and I, before uniforms were mandatory. We were all smiling cheerfully and Eli and I were holding hands, fingers entwined tightly. My heart tightened. What happened to our friendship? When did we become so…
"…Different," I felt myself say. Instead of tossing the photo back into the waste-basket, I folded it and placed it on my night stand, under my book.
Just as my back hit the bed, I heard a sound coming from downstairs. A horrible thought crossed my mind: someone was breaking into the house! My first instinct was to call the police, but I thought better of it. I picked up a high heeled shoe that was stored into my closed and slowly tipped- toed to the stair case, were I lingered for a second. I leaned over the railing, ready to cause some real damage to whoever was in the house, when I heard a familiar voice.
"Oh, Glen, stop! You're such a sweetheart," My mother's voice cooed at my stepfather. I suddenly felt nauseous, ready to puke all over my mother's oriental rug. I ran back upstairs, the shoe still in my hand, and quietly closed the door behind me. I felt…panicky for some reason. I seemed like only yesterday when my mother would go out on evenings with my dad, leaving Darcy and I behind. Now, Glen seemed to be her only concern. The feeling of helplessness overwhelmed me and for the first time in a while, I felt…alone.
Not knowing what to do, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the contacts, looking for someone I could take to. Anybody! Then my finger paused on a name: Eli. Then, I remembered what he had said about bowling helping him when he felt angry. Feeling desperate to talk to someone, I clicked on his name and dialed his number.
After about three rings, Eli finally picked up.
"Hello? Eli residence and this is he speaking," He said casually.
"Eli, hi. It's me," I said, feeling utterly stupid. My face turned about fifteen different shades of red.
"Clare?"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
It was settled: Eli and I were going to go bowling this evening. He told me he had no plans and would be coming over in twenty minutes. A feeling of aid lurked through my body. For once, in a very long time, I would finally be able to talk to someone, someone who didn't judge me. I paced frantically, looking at my clock. Could time tick any slower?
I paused in front of my mirror and a sense of shock charged through me like a battery. I looked quite a mess! With impressive speed, I changed out of my clothes into a pair of nice skinny jeans, a blue flowered V-neck and a tan cardigan. I ran a comb through my messy hair and applied a tiny amount of makeup. With ten minutes left, I slipped my feet into some sneakers, grabbed my bag and walked downstairs.
"Clare, I was starting to get worried!" My mother said, sounding alarmed. Her eyes were wide with fright. "Why didn't you come downstairs to greet me, honey?"
"I-I thought you were…busy," I spat back, venomously. My mother recoiled, looking hurt and instantly, I regretted it.
"Honey, I just went out with Glen for lunch after work. I'm sorry if you feel as though I neglected you," She said, kissing my forehead. My mother looked down at my clothes. "Where are you going so late without telling me?"
"I'm going to go bowling…with Alli," I lied. "I'll be back soon."
"But what about dinner?" My mother said, gesturing to the steaming plate of dinner on the table.
"I-I'll eat when I come back," I reassured her. "G'bye." I leaned towards her and kissed her cheek before heading out. The pain in my heart swelled in my chest. My mother was too caught up with Glen to even notice I was home. I could feel tears starting to well up in my chest, but I refused to let them fall. I looked down at my feet, wondering how something that seemed so…perfect, could be so-
"Clare!" called a familiar voice. I saw Eli approaching on his black bike, a matching helmet strapped under his chin.
"Hey, Eli. Eh, how are we going if you don't have a car?" I asked, suddenly worried. Eli's face fell in confusion.
"Shit! I forgot to tell you, since Morty is totaled, I thought you wouldn't mind riding on the bike with me," He said, smiling weakly. Going to a bowling alley, sitting in the same seat as Eli! The thought made me squirm uncomfortably.
"You mean, on the same seat…with you?" I asked my voice high and mortified. I could feel my face turn from red to purple in less than a second.
"What? No, I meant you stand on the pegs on my bike," He said, a smirk playing on his lips. In emphasize, he gestured to the pegs on his bike.
"And how do I prevent myself from falling off?" I asked. A stupid question, yes, but let me inform you my bike doesn't have pegs. My parents thought they were too dangerous.
Eli paused for a moment and I could see his pale cheeks in the moonlight turn cherry red. He cleared his throat.
"You, ah, grab on to me," He said, his voice suddenly shaky.
I sighed and made my way towards him. As I hoisted myself up onto the pegs, my eyes met his. How sad and beautiful they were, like jewels glimmering in the moonlight. Then, I nervously snaked my arms around his strong neck and locked my now- sweaty hands together, praying I wouldn't fall off.
"I won't fall…right?" I whimpered, fear brimming in my voice. Eli turned to look at me and met my eyes with his.
"You trust me, Clare, right?" He whispered huskily. I nodded, still hypnotized by his enchanting green eyes, unlike a shade I'd ever seen. "Then you won't fall…ever."
I felt as though I could stare at his eyes...forever and NEVER get tired. I felt as though there was something to...look for in those amazing eyes. Something so secretive and so wonderful. Fireworks went off in my head and I felt as though in that moment I could lean down and kiss his lips. Simply looking at him made me feel like falling was impossible. And with that, Eli began biking down the street, me clinging onto him. However, this time, I felt like I could do anything and I truly did believe him:
Eli would never let me fall…ever. So what did I have to loose?
And there, my awesome followers, was the magic EClare moment I promised. To ya'll who don't think it was magical, sorry it didn't make you swoon. But my unicorn fans here will always be faithful. JK:). Anyways, chapter numero cinco (gotta like the Spanish. Cinco means five, by the way) will be uploaded soon and PLEASE PLEASE review. Don't be lazy:). Merci! Gracias:)
