*Disclaimer: I do NOT own the rights to Degrassi nor do I intend to misuse the material.*

Chapter 4

"Open Your Eyes"

Clare and Fitz arrived at The Dot within ten minutes. The car ride was awkward for Clare because Fitz tried to act as if they were great friends when in reality, they could never be any such thing. While Eli continued to despise Fitz, Clare could not betray him by becoming his friend; it just wouldn't be right.

They sat down at a table by the entrance. Clare nervously tapped her fingers on the table, hoping that no one else from school would show up, especially Eli and Adam.

Fitz ordered their coffee and refused to allow Clare to pay for hers. He was only making it a little harder for her to hate him. When their drinks came by, Fitz stifled a laugh as he observed Clare. Her cheeks reddened as she wondered what was so funny about her face.

"Clare, what are you scared of?" Fitz finally spoke.

"I'm not scared," she mumbled.

"Sure you're not. You've been taping your fingers and glancing at the entrance every five seconds. Are you seriously afraid that Eli will find you having coffee with his arch nemesis?" he asked mockingly.

"Fitz, don't start," Clare said sternly.

He looked at her innocently and shook his head. "You're so naïve."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, you act like Eli is your owner or something. You had to come here with me in secret because you know that your defensive boyfriend would be angry if he found out who you're with. Face it, you're afraid of upsetting him," Fitz continued to ramble on but Clare zoned him out. She pushed her coffee away, collected her book bag and headed for the door but Fitz blocked her path. "Don't leave. I thought you should know what everyone else thinks."

She froze and looked up into his eyes. "What in the world are you talking about?"

He looked back into her eyes. "People have been talking. There were witnesses when Eli freaked out on you for cleaning his locker-"

She put a hand up to stop him. "That has nothing to do with any of this! Its rather personal and you and all of the other gossipers have no business-"

It was his turn to cut her off. "Aren't you even wondering how I know about that event? I wasn't around at that time, remember?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Your delinquent buddies probably told you."

He frowned this time. "I repeat, you are naïve."

She then stormed out of The Dot because she was sick of his sardonic comments. Although she should have known that he would follow her out. He tried to place a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it away.

"This was a mistake," Clare said loudly, hoping the whole neighborhood could hear her as they stood right outside of The Dot.

"I heard about the incident with Eli's locker from this blog that some anonymous person made up," Fitz called back, making Clare stop in her tracks. She kept her back to him, waiting for him to continue. "This random person suggests that Eli treats you like his puppet. He's treated you horribly and you run back to him and pretend nothing ever-"

"That's it!" Clare turned around to face Fitz. His look was intense but it could not beat her look of rage. "Those are all rumors! None of it is true. That blogger has no business writing about mine and Eli's relationship. Well yes, Eli flipped out a little when I cleaned his locker out but that was only because he has a hoarding issue," she placed her hand over her own mouth, appalled with herself for spilling Eli's secret.

Fitz stepped back and began to laugh. "Emo Boy is a hoarder? Ah man, this just keeps getting better and better!"

"Shut up idiot!" She tightened her fists and fought back the urge to punch him in the face. She felt so stupid for believing that he was willing to change. She even felt stupider for the fact that she had lied to Eli just to talk to this inconsiderate jerk.

Fitz took a few steps towards Clare, placing a hand on her arm. Her body felt immobilized with Fitz's touch and her eyes immediately shut tightly. If he was going to hurt her, she would be learning her lesson the hard way. Strangely though, instead of pain she felt relief. Fitz spoke softly, "Did St. Clare just call me an idiot? I think we should be expecting a heavy rainstorm just for that," he joked, keeping his grasp on her arm light and comforting. "I'm sorry, again. I just can't stand Eli just like he can't stand me. But I promise I won't mention to anyone about his-"

"Clare?" A familiar voice called out from a short distance. Her heart skipped a beat when it automatically registered whom the voice belonged to. She was afraid to open her eyes.