Sorry I haven't updated this in a while, I've been busy. Your comments are still appreciated. I hope you like it and I promise that I will try harder to update more often!
The next day at school, Adam was sitting on a park bench by himself. Everyone was starting to file into the school but he didn't want to go in. He was almost positive that Eli and Clare would be in there together and going in there would be just plain torture.
Coming up with ways to tell Eli, he noticed Drew walking into school later than most. There was a weird look on his face, a determined look. Following him into school, he noticed that it was later than he thought. Almost everyone was in their class already except Eli and Drew. Adam crept through the doors to a place where he could see them but they couldn't see him.
"Look, I'm only doing this because I know Adam is miserable and even though he won't admit it to himself, he wants to tell you. Besides I think you really need to know this," Drew told Eli.
The three of them were the only ones in the hallway now. "What is it? What's so important that I needed to skip class again? If I get caught, I could get suspended."
Eli seemed pissed off but it didn't look like Drew cared. "Adam likes Clare."
At this time Adam was kind of thankful that he wouldn't have to explain it to Eli himself. Now he was just hoping that Drew would do a good job explaining it so Eli wouldn't get that angry.
Either Eli was being extremely ignorant or he didn't want to believe it but he responded, "No duh."
Annoyed that he had to explain it, Drew rolled his eyes and said, "No, I mean he really likes Clare."
Adam leaned further toward them so he could hear and see better. Basically his whole happiness depended on how Eli would react.
It wasn't looking good. His fists clenched, he tilted his head down like he usually does when he's mad. Before he stormed right out of the school, he gave a death stare to Drew.
Jumping out of the way so Eli wouldn't see him, Adam heard Drew yelling at him, "Hey! I wasn't finished!"
Luckily he wasn't seen, but he felt even worse than he had before. This was not what he wanted to happen. In fact it was pretty much the exact opposite of what he wanted. Today was definitely way worse than yesterday, he decided. So he went back to his house to wait out the rest of the day. Maybe tomorrow he would search out Eli and try to explain things better. He probably would have cooled down some and be more reasonable to talk to.
No one was there. Drew was at school and both his parents were working. All day he did nothing. Watched T.V., slept, surfed the internet. For some reason his mind kept wandering as to why Eli got so mad. Didn't he understand better than anyone that you can't control your feelings? Why couldn't he see that Adam never did anything about it? As much as he tried to avoid thinking about it, he couldn't. He was sure that he told Clare. What would Clare think?
After school was over, Adam only had an hour or so before his brother would come home. Still doing nothing, he kept questioning what he would do. Should he text Eli or try to talk to him tomorrow or give him more time? Maybe try getting Clare to talk to Eli, he thought, but that was quickly shot down. Talking to Clare about his feelings for her would be way too awkward.
When the doorbell rang Adam jumped up and ran to the door. He definitely needed a distraction.
"Hi Adam," Clare said nervously.
His heart leapt, but his face fell. This obviously wasn't a pleasant visit, he could tell by her expression. "Oh… Clare."
"Please don't shoot the messenger. All he told me was that I was supposed to tell you to meet him outside The Dot tonight at seven." Clare stood there looking down at her feet. They both knew what was going on, but they both played dumb to spare the other.
"Okay, thanks. And I just want to say that I'm sorry." There was no explanation needed.
"It's okay. Just do me a favor, tell him that he's making a mistake. And be careful. I don't think he's going to anything, but I know that he's capable of things that neither of us can imagine."
They were looking at each other now. Adam was so glad that she came, even though he was almost positive that she came for Eli's benefit. Smiling a sad smile at her he said, "I will. And Clare," he paused, "it's really good to see you."
Returning the smile she said, "You too. Bye."
While she walked down the steps to his house, he closed the door and watched her walk away through a window. Neither of them had said Eli's name once, but they both knew what they were talking about. His mind was already made up. He was going to go tonight even if it was dangerous. If things went as planned, he would be able to give Eli an explanation. If not, well, at least he tried.
The family came home at six and he had already made up a good excuse by that time. Before he left the house he told them what he was doing, meeting up with Eli. This was no shock since they usually hung out, but he didn't tell them what they were meeting up for.
