After this story is over I start writing Drop the World…and I am terrified. I think I may cry a lot during that writing process. Mostly because of how their relationship is playing out in Season 11.

But I'm still excited to write it…and this. So, enjoy the final chapter of Clam, Meet Storm. :)

It made perfect sense, and I didn't know how I had ever thought Stalker Angel was complete without this specific ending. The words poured out of my head almost faster than I was able to write them, but I was not complaining. Having too much to say at once beat the hell out of writers block.

But, the best part about this ending was that Malcolm could spend the rest of eternity with Rachel. Just how true love was supposed to be- eternal…like the kind of love Clare and I shared.

This new ending…it was perfect. Malcolm and Rachel had to work together in an epic battle to destroy the spirit that had been messing with their perfect romance for far too long. Rachel is able to distract Stalker Angel long enough for Malcolm to send him right to the fiery pits of whatever afterworld is waiting. They work together as a team to conquer all evil.

I sighed in satisfaction after I placed the last period following the last word of my summary sentence. Clare was going to love the new ending, and I couldn't wait to show her. After all, she had told me I was welcome to go over there as soon as I had finished my story…and the rain had stopped, at least for the time being, so it felt like the perfect moment of clarity.

The sunshine was just a sign that everything was finally perfect again. I was going to spend the first normal hour with Clare in such a long time. It felt like we hadn't hung out in ages without some kind of anxiety or issue to keep us from having a good time.

Well, Clare was in for the most relaxed evening of her life. Her house would be a drama free zone.

I smiled to myself as I printed out the pages of my hard work, stapled them together and then practically sprinted toward Morty. I just couldn't wait to see Clare's smiling face, to hold her in my arms and kiss her like she was the most important thing in my life…because she was, and she needed a reminder that I cherished her. I would never take Clare for granted…that was my one goal in life.

And these past few days had been wrought with me taking Clare for granted and of me taking advantage. I was so done with driving people I cared about away.

Keeping them from driving me away would be an entirely different horse race, but Clare hadn't given me a reason to be worried…aside from whatever she had gone to do after school that she wouldn't tell me about. But that wasn't a big deal, right? If it were, she certainly would have told me about it.

I pushed all unhappy thoughts out of my mind as I parked on the curb across from Clare's house. I folded the pages of Stalker Angel and stuck them in my back pocket as I made my way to her front door. I heard voices as I approached, which was weird because Clare's mom was supposedly out. Of course, Clare could be watching T.V., but I could have sworn one of the voices was Clare's…and she was having a heated discussion with a male voice.

I took a deep breath to center myself as the worst case scenario ran through my mind. Clare wouldn't cheat on me…and that voice sounded eerily familiar…

I knocked; figuring speculation wasn't going to get me anywhere. I would just have to see for myself what was happening behind that closed door. "Clare it's me," I called.

"Eli," Clare called back, the anxiety in her voice thick, and my heart immediately lurched out of my chest. What if she was in danger? "Just one second."

I wasn't going to wait even one more millisecond. I knew Clare rarely locked the door, and the knob turned easily under my hand. I would just barge in, pretend like nothing was wrong. If there was something wrong, I would take care of it somehow. If I had gotten worried over nothing then I would take a few deep breaths and carry on as if nothing had ever been amiss in my head in the first place.

"You are looking at a literary master!" I bragged as I walked into the front room, but what I saw made me stop cold. Literally, all the heat seemed to leak out of my body through my fingertips and toes. The other voice had sounded familiar because it had been Fitz…Fitz was in Clare's house. While her mother was out, no less! My heart was a stone in my chest, weighing me down.

I had not expected this kind of betrayal. This was worse than everything that had flashed in my mind before I even opened the door. Clare had promised…we had vowed to get back on track. She had lied to me; she was slipping right through my clumsy grasp.

"Hey, Eli," Fitz had the nerve to greet me, and I wanted to charge at him with a knife. Oh, wait; he had already done that to me.

"Clare, what the fuck is he doing here?" I growled, trying to make my voice have sound, purpose. But it came out as a chocked whisper. My cold heart could not properly supply the blood to all my extremities and I was losing all my body's normal functions…shutting down instead of having to deal with the impossible situation presented to me.

Clare flinched at my word choice, as a rule I kept my swearing to a minimum in her presence, and I never swore directly at her. But I couldn't feel bad about it yet…I was desperately trying not to feel anything.

After getting over the shock of my anger, Clare answered me. "Fitz just showed up on my doorstep all beaten up. He's having problems at home," Clare defended herself, and I looked at Fitz again- taking note of the fresh gash on his face. However, as much as the evidence seemed to go with his newest story I just could not believe him.

Why would I? He had never given me a reason to trust him and he was wedging himself between me and the single most important person in my life. Scratch that, he was wedging himself between me and my life…Clare was my life. And Fitz was slowly bleeding me dry of my life force. I hated him, I hated him, I hated him.

"Oh sure, more lies," I accused. But there was a more important missing link…, "Why do you care?"

How could she feel compassion for the person who was single-handedly destroying our relationship?

"Because anyone with a heart tries to help people when they're in trouble!" Clare shot back at me with a sudden anger that didn't make sense to me, making her words seem like some kind of insinuation.

"What are you saying," I demanded, confused, "that I'm some heartless monster?"

I don't know why I had asked the question…maybe I had expected it to be rhetorical, but Clare answered anyway.

I wasn't expecting her answer, and it broke my heart…

"Sometimes," she shot back so quickly; she didn't even have to think about it. Clare thought I was heartless. She thought I was a monster. Well, if I had done something to convince of such a thing then it must be true. Tears pricked at my eyes…because if Clare thought badly of me I had done something horridly wrong. I had screwed everything up.

I suddenly needed to get out, get away. I couldn't be with Clare right now because I couldn't trust what I would do…lash out in anger, break down in tears, or scream in denial. Either way, I was sure I didn't want Clare to see it because it might make her think I was even worse than before. She thought I was a monster- I didn't want her to think I was unstable, too. Her opinion meant so much…too much.

"Eli, we need to talk," Fitz started to approach me, and I could not believe he had the gull. Either he was extremely gutsy and self-assured or he was a fucking idiot with a death wish. Because I had never wanted to kill someone more than I wanted to kill Fitz. I would get pleasure from locking my hands around his throat and watching him turn blue from lack of oxygen. I wanted him to hurt as much as I was hurt at the moment. I wanted his heart to stop beating like mine had. And, most of all, I wanted him to never have the pleasure of knowing such a genuinely good person as Clare- he didn't deserve it.

I needed to leave before I actually did kill him. "I have nothing to say to you," I yelled at him, malice dripping from every word. And then I backed out the door without another word to Clare. I couldn't handle people…my mind was racing and shutting down at the same time. It was horrifying and confusing. I saw no light at the end of this tunnel.

"Me and Clare have a special connection," Fitz persisted, calling after me, but I slammed the door on his lies and deception. There was only one thing occupying my oxymoron of a mind…and that was Clare's face after she had called me a heartless monster a mix of regret and whist. I didn't know what it meant, but I didn't think it could be anything good.

Clare was leaving me…she was leaving me for Fitz and there was nothing I would be able to do to stop it. Because I had tried everything I could all week, and it was still happening.

I slammed Morty's door and immediately realized that I couldn't even make my escape. The tears started to stream down my face as the numb started to ebb- leaving more than enough room for the pain and betrayal.

I leaned forward, trying to block out the cruel world through the sanctuary of my arms. I engulfed myself in darkness…it was more than appropriate given my mood.

Clare was right- I was a monster; heartless. After all, only someone who was heartless would put someone like Clare through all the pain I had. I knew from the start that Clare didn't deserve to go through the ups and downs of caring about me. It wasn't right to take such a pure and innocent soul as Clare's and drag it through the dark forest of my life. The only thing I had ended up accomplishing was allowing Clare to snag her perfect soul on the relentless branches of my history.

I made her help me deal with Julia- a burden that nobody should have to help me carry because it still weighed so heavily on my heart. I was an overprotective fool; I cared about her too much. I was no good for her, and I would only end up hurting her more than I already had.

But what made me the most heartless was that I couldn't make any of that very real and depressing fact justify giving Clare up. As selfish as I had been, as selfish as I continued to be, I simply could not let Clare walk out of my life. It seemed like she already was, but I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't let that happen. Because I needed Clare like I needed my lungs, brain, heart and stomach. She was my everything.

I was heartless because I would rather cause her pain, make her deal with loving me, than give her up.

I would never give her up.

I wasn't sure how long I let my dark, twisted thoughts race through my head, but eventually I did hear the passenger door open and then close. I didn't have to look up to know who it was…I could very easily detect Clare's warm scent. Also, I felt my heart ease up just a little at her presence…she had something to say, obviously. She cared enough to have come to check on me, and I hoped that was a good thing.

"I know you're mad, but just let me explain." She thought I was mad at her. She was too amazing to put words to it…she thought I had a right to be mad about her comment when it was so true that it hurt. How could I ever deserve her? "I didn't mean it when I said you were heartless," she continued, and I could not doubt her sincerity.

Her words were like a life jacket…but that didn't change the fact that I was a monster. It was just nice to know she didn't honestly think that of me. But, of course, love was blind. And by some great miracle, Clare loved me.

"It's okay," I assured her, my voice thick with the tears, "I deserved it." On the contrary, I deserved far, far worse. But I could not take the worst…the worst would be losing Clare. She couldn't leave me; I wouldn't be able to handle it! "I don't want to lose you, Clare," I forced myself to say out loud. I didn't want to give her a view into my messed up, vulnerable mind for fear that she would be disgusted with the pathetic being she saw, but I needed her to know that she was my everything. I needed her to put to rest all my insecurities about her leaving.

"You're not going to," she instantly assured, sliding closer to me. But I wasn't done. She needed to hear the extent of my dependency, and then she had to promise I wouldn't lose her. I wouldn't believe her until she knew how serious this was.

"I just feel like you're slipping away, and I- and I can't stop it. Don't leave me, okay? Please- promise me, okay? Just promise me." I hated begging…showing her how weak I really was, but I was so damn scared. I was scared that I needed her too much. I was scared that she would eventually get fed up. I was scared that even if I got her to promise she would find some way out of it. I was terrified of letting her go even if that would be best for her.

"Okay," Clare agreed, and she pulled me closer. I didn't resist- I needed to be close to her. I let my head fall on her shoulder, and she pulled me closer, gripping my hair and leaning her head on top of mine. It was reassuring…Clare was seeing me at my worst…more broken than she had ever seen me before, and she still wanted me. She would never leave me. And I needed her to be mine forever. One day less would be too much heartbreak for me to handle.

She sat there with me till my tears dried and I sat up. "I-I'm sorry you had to see that. I-that wasn't fair to you." I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the fact that Clare was still there…she still cared.

"Eli…I love you. And I know you have a lot you're still dealing with. I'm just happy to know you're trying. You don't have to apologize; I started it. I should have just told you that I had to deal with Fitz one last time."

"Clare, don't blame yourself for this. It will just make me feel worse about being an overprotective tyrant."

"Hey, nobody's perfect, right?" Clare attempted a joke to lighten the mood, and I cracked a smile after I wiped the tears off my cheeks. I felt drained and lifeless. I wondered if everyone had such intense emotional swings, and if it left them breathless.

I also wondered if I wanted the answer to that question.

"I think…I need to go home. I just, I'm exhausted."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow at school. Everything is okay with us, right?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," I admitted. Seeing me like that was probably intense, and I didn't want to scare Clare.

But, as always, Clare handled me perfectly. The smile on her face was genuine and bright and it lit me on fire from the inside out. "I think we're great…ready to take on the world together."

"As one," I added to her reassurance, and the words immediately struck a chord in me as it started to drizzle again. "You should get inside before it starts to pour."

"Yeah…tomorrow at school- first thing."

"First thing; I love you, Clare Edwards."

"And I, you, Eli Goldsworthy."

After she gave me a quick peck on the cheek Clare slipped out of Morty and jogged back to her front door through the rain that was starting to pick up speed. I turned Morty on and drove back to my place, the words 'as one' resonating through my mind. There was just something so appealing, and yet creepy, about the idea of being perfectly as one with someone.

And then it hit me…Malcolm and Rachel! They needed to be as one. It wasn't just enough to have them work together as a team to defeat Stalker Angel…they had to do it as one person. It was deliciously morbid and I got chills just thinking about it.

As soon as I was home I sprinted into my room, locked the door behind me and started up the computer. I pulled the forgotten copy of Stalker Angel from my back pocket, torn it into shreds, and then focused on writing the new ending. This was it; I could feel it.

The perfect ending in my world of fiction and in my reality…both Malcolm and I would be able to spend forever with their love. Clare was such an inspiration…she was the reason I could make this perfect.

She was the reason I could write about love because she was the reason I knew that it truly did exist.

XXX

With the new, final, perfect version of Stalker Angel in a protective sleeve and ready for submission I made my way to Degrassi. I couldn't wait to find Clare and tell her all about the ending to our story. Because, after all, she had helped me write it. It was our child; the product of our combined creativity.

I spotted Clare at her locker and I raced up, so buzzed on my excitement, "Got something for you."

"Stalker Angel?" She asked, grabbing the pages out of my outstretched hand and letting her eyes skim over the first page.

"You never got a chance to read it last night, so I thought you'd want to go over it before we submit it." Not that I was worried. I was finally happy with the way the story turned out. It was the darkest happily ever after I had ever come across…it was sure to impress anyone interested in gothic fiction. It was written by the world's greatest couple, after all.

"I'd love to," Clare flashed her gorgeous smile at me. "I can't wait to see how it all turns out."

She was in for a wild ride…I wondered what Clare would think of such a twisted ending. Would she be able to see the beauty behind the beast of it? She didn't even know I had gone through one last revision.

"Well, with all the drama last night with you-know-who, the rain and the thunder…it really got me thinking about the ending."

"You changed the ending again?" Clare asked, incredulous. She was a writer, too. She had to know to importance of your conclusion. I had to make it just right.

"I really think I nailed it this time," I confessed, letting my excitement and passion shine through. "The hero, Malcolm, realizes that he can never protect his heroine, Rachel, from Stalker Angel," I started to explain as we started to walk down the hall. "So, he has no choice but to…"

"Kill Stalker Angel," Clare filled in happily, trying to guess my new ending.

I didn't want to spoil it for her, but I also wanted to see her reaction, so I soldiered on with my watered down description of my epic love story. "No," I declared, felling giddy from the telling of my masterpiece; of our masterpiece. "He kills Rachel. He grabs his knife, cuts her throat, drinks her blood and forever they are one."

Clare got a terrified look on her face, and it made me want to giggle. That was the reaction I had hoped to yield. My ending was perfect!

"That's…," Clare seemed to struggle for the right word, "disturbing."

"It's brilliant," I defended, "and it wouldn't be much of a horror story otherwise."

"Right, of course," Clare smiled; I knew she would understand the magic of such a bone-chilling end. I loved that smile so much…I wanted her to know how big of a part she had played in my writing process. She was my muse, my inspiration, and my Rachel. I would go to the ends of the Earth to spend forever with her.

"It's my masterpiece, and I couldn't have written it without you. It's all about you, Clare."

I was talking about my life, my existence…my very purpose for doing anything was centered around Clare, but she seemed to think I meant the story specifically. "Great…just try not to kill me, kay?

I laughed, loving how euphoric I was feeling. "Funny," I commented on her joke. Damn, she was just so beautiful. My thoughts were all out of order…not a single one of them connecting the way they should, but I was too happy to notice. Clare and I were good again, and I had just written a kick-ass story. I had never felt so good in my life. I wanted to skip class. I wanted to spend time alone with Clare and bask in her perfection. And I knew just how to make that happen. "Don't I owe you a driving lesson? The hearse awaits!"

"You sure that's a good idea," Clare asked, seeming hesitant about skipping. Or maybe it was about being behind the wheel again. It had been a little while since our last lesson. But some time alone would do us good.

"Don't be ridiculous; I'll be with you every step of the way," I assured her, and then gestured forward, "Milady." Clare nodded at me, but I was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to tell people that this beautiful human being was mine…I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what a lucky guy I was. "I love Clare Edwards," I announced to the hallway, my euphoria growing with every step we took toward Morty. This…being with Clare, knowing that she loved me and wouldn't leave me…this was my happy place. So I slung my arm around her and we made our way to the door.

I had her at my side, securely latched in place, and I was never going to let her stray.

I love pretending to be crazy. How am I doing with it, by the way? Eli just keeps getting more challenging to write, but I'm certainly enjoying myself.

Coming soon…Drop the World in Eli's point of view; there will be tears.