Surprise, surprise, I can't stick to my outline. Oh well, just 2 chapters after this. It's kinda lengthy, what else is new?
For those of you who have read my other stories, I am currently working on 'Ship of Fools' as well and plan to have that wrapped up soon. If you haven't read it yet, prepare yourself, it's not a happy story.
As always I don't own anything except the clothes on my back and love to hear what you guys think, leave me a review or drop by my tumblr: cheapnovelty87. Enjoy
Chapter 7
"What am I supposed to do?" Clare urged impatiently. She had called Alli for an emergency meeting at The Dot, desperate to talk to someone about yesterday's happenings at the movie theater.
Alli took her time, stirring her skinny latte with her spoon before taking a sip, seeming to torture Clare. "Well if you want me to answer you're going to have to be a bit more specific" Alli drawled, "all you said was you felt 'something' with Eli while watching your parents make out or whatever. What is 'something'? You felt like throwing up? You felt like dragging his butt to a salon to get that mop of his cut, because I sure do."
"Alli" Clare said giving her an unimpressed look.
"What? Boy needs a haircut." the darker girl defended, taking another sip from her latte as Clare's hot chocolate sat untouched.
She sat, clutching her cup in her hands as she tried to think of the words to say. Clare knew how she felt and she knew she needed to share it with someone, but now, she felt she was losing her nerve. Maybe it was a bad idea to call Alli, she never liked Eli even before his breakdown, and surely her opinion of him hadn't gotten much better after crashing his car and sabotaging his own play.
She could just change the subject, sure Alli would see right through her, but at least for now she would be safe. Later on she could call someone, not Adam; boy couldn't keep a secret to save his life. Maybe Imogen, she was in the same situation as Clare, but there was still some tension between the two she would rather not deal with. Fiona wouldn't be any help, regardless of the situation she would try to push them together, Clare was pretty sure Fiona just liked couples in general despite how bad they may be for each other. If Clare told her she had feelings for Hitler Fiona would probably say they were destined for another.
Nope, Alli was her best choice and she knew it.
Sucking in a deep breath, Clare whispered quietly, her eyes directed at the table, "I think I might like Eli."
She waited, any minute a squeal so loud the windows would shatter would echo through the tiny café, it was just in her nature. See a cute boy, Alli squeals. Get an A on a test, Alli squeals. Hear some juicy gossip involving her best friend and her ex; you best believe Alli will squeal.
But the squeal never came, that or either it was so high-pitched Clare couldn't even hear it. Most likely the latter.
She looked up and instead of finding a mid-screech Alli, the girl just sat staring at Clare as if waiting for her to continue, "And?"
"And what? I said I like Eli!" Clare blurted confused, how had Alli missed the whole point of their meeting here?
"I'm sorry, am I supposed to be surprised by this?" Alli shot back, her trademark sassiness making an appearance. She held up a finger, signaling Clare to hold on a second as she sat up straighter, smoothed her hair and in the loudest voice imaginable, exclaimed, "Oh my gosh Clare, you still like Eli!?"
"Alli!" Clare groaned trying to shield her face as every person in the building turned to look at the two girls, Marisol Lewis smiling wickedly before pulling out her phone, obviously not able to keep something to herself for at least 10 minutes.
"What, isn't that the reaction you were looking for?" Alli smiled proudly. "I'm sorry Clare, but you two are kinda obvious, make that incredibly, super, right up in your face obvious. The only person who probably doesn't know is Eli himself and that's because the boy is a moron."
"Says the girl who dated Drew Torres" Clare grumbled earning a glare from the girl across from her.
"Moving on, did you really not think I would have picked up on this by now? Give me some credit, girl."
Clare shrugged, "I just realized it myself yesterday."
Alli laughed, "That's cause someone's been in denial. What about that time after school you two were sitting at the picnic table holding hands? "
She knew she had a point, even Fiona, lover of all couples would comment on their frequent hand-holding, "He was just being sweet; it wasn't like it was a romantic gesture. Sometimes you just want someone to hold your hand, simple as that."
"Yeah and sometimes you just want to kiss Eli" Alli mocked as Clare blushed furiously. "Don't forget that time I found you two in an empty class room, just a few feet from each other."
"We weren't doing anything; I was helping him with his video project. Plus, the only reason you came bursting in was because Adam told you we were making out in there" Clare pointed out remembering the occasion. Eli had been describing the angle they should shoot when Alli busted in screaming, "Oh my God I knew it!" Eli had actually fallen off his stool at the small girl's entrance, making the girls burst into laughter.
"Whatever blame it on Adam. Doesn't change the fact I can't see you in school without him somewhere nearby or go anywhere without one of you texting the other" Alli went on, pausing to quirk an eyebrow at her friend. "Speaking of which, why hasn't he text you yet, too busy writing you love poetry?"
Clare rolled her eyes, "He's having a guy's night with Adam, I think they went to the arcade. Normally Adam and Imogen spend every second together, but I guess her and Fiona had a project to finish for their cooking class."
"Well you two have been sailing on the Denial Ship for quite some time now" Alli finished her point from earlier as she took a bite from her cookie that had been forgotten until then. According to Alli there was no point in getting a skinny latte if you couldn't eat a snack while doing so.
"Can I ask you something?" Clare started, still unsure to her friend's reaction to her confession.
Alli nodded, not wanting to answer with a mouthful of cookie in her mouth, to Clare's delight, as much as she loved chocolate chip cookies, she was pretty sure the visual of them in Alli's mouth would ruin turn her off them forever.
"Why aren't you lecturing me about this?" she asked timidly, tensing up as she saw the look of determination in Alli's eyes.
"You're right" Alli swallowed, "what was I thinking? Girl, what took you so darn long? I could've realized I liked Dave at least five times by now. And when are you going to tell him? You better tell me every detail when you do; Lord knows you owe me some juicy details."
"I…what?" Clare sputtered, completely caught off guard by Alli's answer. Where was the Clare you can do so much better than him or the Girl you do not want to go back down that road she had been expecting.
"Oh come on, you never gave me any dirty little snippets when you two were together, give me something" Alli pleaded, her hands clasped out in front of her.
"That's not what I was talking about, why aren't you telling me this is a bad idea?" Clare explained, "It's Eli! When we broke up you kept saying how he was manipulating me and how messed up he was."
"Well he was messed up, girl. You told me so yourself that he started taking pills after the Above the Dot shebang. Obviously he's better now, he actually said hi to me last week, Moody Eli Goldsworthy is greeting people! He's cured!" Alli joked before continuing seriously. "Dave has a few classes with him and he likes him, he's always telling me about something funny Eli said in class. Dave has pretty good taste in people" she smiled, "so Eli can't be that bad."
"You're…you're okay with this?" Clare asked stunned, the fact that Alli Bhandari actually approved of Eli Goldsworthy was such a foreign topic, it was hard to her to process.
"I am. As much as I hate to admit it, I might have been wrong about him. Aside from when he was sick, he's never really done anything bad to you, and although he's a little weird and doesn't have any style, he makes you happy so I can live with it."
"Thank you" Clare smiled, reaching across the table to squeeze Alli's hand.
"Okay, okay, enough hand-holding, you can do that with Eli" Alli laughed, propping her chin on her hands. "So, when are you going to tell him?"
"Alli" she chided, "I can't just walk up to him and tell him I have feelings for him."
"Uh, yeah, that's exactly what you can do" Alli deadpanned, "and then you kiss him, the end, happily ever after."
"Fine or you can just sit there and wait for him to make a move" Alli grumbled seeing how Clare wasn't too fond of her idea.
"I just don't want to mess things up between us, we have such a good friendship right now" Clare explained.
"And that'll just make your relationship that much better, trust me Clare, he wants this just as much as you do, probably more."
"How can you be so sure?" Clare pressed, taking a drink from her now cold hot chocolate.
"I'm Alli Bhandari; I know everything about everything" Alli laughed, "especially boys. Plus, like I said, Dave has a few classes with him; your name has come up on more than one occasion."
"Fine" Clare said, "Maybe I'll tell him, or hint a little bit and see how he reacts, maybe."
"I can live with maybe" Alli sang, doing a little dance in her chair. "I have to tell Dave, he's gonna owe me money for this, oooh and I have to tell my mom, she'll be so excited."
"Wait, what? What do your mom and Dave have to do with anything?" Clare questioned.
Alli laughed, her eyes not meeting Clare's, "Well Dave and I might've made a little bet involving you two…"
"Such as?"
"Well I said you two would be back together before the end of the year, Dave thinks you'll wait until next term, you have to get a move on Clare, we're running out of time!"
Clare shook her head, she should've known, she wouldn't be surprised if Adam, Imogen and Fiona had a similar bet going on. "And your mom?"
"Well, when you and I were on the outs, she kinda became my gossip buddy. Jenna was busy with Jake and Sav stopped putting up with it after a few days, so I went to my mom" Alli explained. "Oh Alliah, Elijah and Clare are back together, let me make celebratory samosas" she mocked in an Indian accent.
Clare laughed at the mental image of Mrs. Bhandari and her daughter sitting around the table discussing how awful Heather Poulette's new hair color looks and who Drew Torres should end up with.
"You know Clare" Alli started, her freshly manicured finger swirling over the rim of her glass, "as your best friend it is my duty to give you advice when I see fit…"
"And right now you see fit?" Clare guessed not sure if she wanted to hear Alli's solution, as much as she loved the girl you couldn't help but notice she always had some type of issue in the guy department.
"I do actually, with your little How-Do-I-Tell-Eli-I-Like-Him-Without-Actually-Telling-Him-I-Like-Him Problem."
"It's not that I don't want to tell him, it's complicated" Clare informed as Alli shook her hands wildly.
"Don't care; what I've got will solve all your problems for the rest of your life, including this little Eli thing."
Clare nodded intrigued, "I'm listening."
Alli smiled, leaning across the table, "I call it….flirting."
"Alli" Clare sighed, flopping back into her seat.
"What? Works like a charm, better than just sitting around hoping Eli makes a move" Alli defended. "It's easy, it's fun, and very may just earn you some lip time with that boy of yours if done properly."
Clare shook her head, "That's all fine and dandy, but Alli, I already know how to flirt."
Scoffing, Alli replied, "Girl trust me, you do not know how to flirt. You think you do, but you can't, just like you think you know how to dance. Lucky for you, I'm such a good friend that I'll teach you all the tricks on how to properly flirt."
Shaking her head Clare laughed, "This is ridiculous."
"Hey I'm trying to help" Alli insisted, "you can keep doing your dorky version of flirting and see where that gets you or you can flirt like a pro" she motioned to herself, "and get the boy. Your choice."
Mulling it over in her head, she gave in; why not give it a shot? As much boy problems that Alli had, none of which involved getting the boy, that she was quite talented in. "Fine."
"Great, now get a pen and some paper" Alli smiled, "you're taking notes."
XXX
"There he is!" Alli exclaimed the next day at school giving Clare a hard shove in the back, "now, go show off your skills!"
Clare managed to regain her balance mid-stumble and turned to glare at her friend, "I see him, thank you very much, turns out Lasik eye surgery does work." Ever since their little lesson on flirting the previous day Alli couldn't wait for Clare to try it out on Eli, hence the shoving at the first sign of him.
Alli laughed, Clare's attempt at intimidation doing not even fazing her, "Just trying to help, go make me proud!" She strutted down the hallway past an unaware Eli and Adam before turning to give Clare once last encouraging smile and continuing on, probably to find Dave.
Clare took a deep breath in, trying to recall all the tips Alli had told her yesterday before making her way over to the two boys.
"Edwards, long time no see" Eli smirked as she approached.
"Aw did you miss me?" Clare smiled; batting her eyelashes like Alli instructed her to.
"Something in your eye, Clare?" Adam asked confused making Eli laugh.
"Um yeah, thanks" she grumbled, rubbing at her eye. This flirting thing was not starting the way she intended it to. "So, how was your guy's night?" she asked trying to change the subject.
"Awesome as always" Adam answered. "We went down to the arcade where I beat my high score at the killer zombie game, met up with Drew and Dave, got some hot wings then went back to my place and watched a marathon of monster truck rallies. Overall pretty good night, oh but I forgot to tell you the best part!" he cried smacking his forehead like those people from the fruit drink commercials.
"That's not necessary" Eli shook his head while playing with one of his rings.
"Oh, but it is" Adam laughed, "I'm sure Clare would looooove to hear."
Eli shot him a look clearly telling him to shut up but Adam paid no mind, "Our friend Eli here, set a record for the lowest score on Dance Dance Revolution where he, wait for it" he paused, his eyes shifting back and forth between the two, "lost to an 8 year old girl!"
"What? Is that true?" Clare asked laughing. She had no idea what business Eli had at any dancing game regardless of who he was up against, the boy had two left feet.
"No" Eli grumbled, "She was 12."
"Yeah cause that makes it better" Adam laughed.
With Alli's words in her mind, Clare reached out and placed a hand on Eli's arm, squeezing lightly, "You poor thing." Once again, the reaction she was looking for was nowhere to be found as both boys stopped laughing and stared at her hand as if it was an intruder to their group.
"That was weird" Adam mumbled to himself as Clare withdrew her hand awkwardly.
"So" she started unsure, "do you guys have any plans later on?"
"You shouldn't have said that" Eli warned.
Before she could question what exactly he meant by that Adam interrupted, a large grin plastered on his face and his voice raised in excitement. "We do actually. Clare, you might have noticed there's snow outside."
"You always were the observant one" Clare teased shooting a look out the window. Toronto had gotten its first big chunk of snow over the past two days with most of the accumulation occurring the previous night, she had even received a text from Adam asking her to pray for a school cancelation, turns out God had other plans.
"Well Eli and I were discussing what better way to officially welcome winter than by going sledding?!, Am I right or am I right?"
"Sledding? Do you even own a sled?" Clare asked, trying to remember the last time she had even gone sledding, surely before Darcy left.
"Course I do, I'm a man prepared! Plus Drew and I go every year, but now that he's back with Bianca all he wants to do is make out with her" Adam replied rolling his eyes.
"Can you believe it?" Eli drawled sarcastically.
"I know, right? Dude's crazy" Adam agreed. "Anyway I already asked Fiona and Imogen and they're down, Immy's even gonna bring an extra sled, so what do say, Clare?"
Clare looked from Adam's hopeful face over to Eli who merely raised his eyebrows in question, "Alright" she sighed.
"Booyeah!" Adam sang, throwing his fist in the air. "We'll regroup here after school, cool? Over and out"
Clare laughed watching him run down the hallway yelling to other students, "Guess who's going sledding? Not you, bet you wish you were going sledding!"
"Remind me why we're friends with him?" Eli drawled, a hint of a smile on his face. "Hey I'm kidding" he laughed as Clare slapped him hard on the arm.
"You know you love him" she narrowed her eyes jokingly at him as they made their way to her locker.
"I know, I might even ask him to marry me" Eli responded.
"Ooh, can I be your Maid of Honor?"
"Sure" Eli nodded making them both laugh. "Wait, are you suggesting I'd be the Bride?"
"I don't know, Adam can rock a bowtie pretty well" Clare reasoned taking her books from her locker.
"That he can" Eli nodded. "Well as long as the dress doesn't make me look fat…." He mocked taking her books from her hands as they headed to Clare's first period.
"Don't worry" Clare said, stopping in front of her classroom, "I'm sure you would look fabulous in a dress."
"Oh my gosh, thank you" Eli mocked, placing a hand on his chest in a way the reminded her eerily of Alli.
"No problem" Clare laughed taking her books back from him. They stood for a moment just smiling at each other when the door to the classroom opened up and Connor stuck his head out.
"Clare, Miss Oh says you need to stop staring at your boyfriend and get in class before she marks you tardy" he deadpanned.
Blushing slightly at the realization the entire class was watching her exchange with Eli, she nodded, "Okay, thanks Connor, I'm coming." Only after Connor's head disappeared back into the room did she turn back to Eli, "I guess that's my cue."
Eli nodded, "Guess so. Regroup here after school?"
She laughed "10-4 good buddy."
He smirked giving her a salute, "Over and out" before heading down the hallway to his own class.
XXX
After the final bell rang Clare managed to fight through the crowd of niners who seemed to set up camp outside her class and made her way to Adam's locker where he and Fiona were already waiting.
"Hey, there she is" Adam cried upon noticing her, "Hope you changed into your fun pants cause you're gonna need them."
"Um, no, just my regular pants" Clare laughed looking down at her jeans.
Adam shook his head in mock disappointment, "Shame."
"Are those your fun pants?" Fiona accused pointing a finger at Adam who glared in return.
"Every pair of pants I own are fun pants" he informed.
"You are so weird" Fiona laughed shaking her head. "Where's Eli at anyway? I didn't realize you two ever left the other's side" she added nodding at Clare.
"Probably on his way I'm sure" she shrugged. "Did he seem…a little off this morning?" she asked looking over at Adam.
"Isn't he always a little off?" Adam laughed, "And you say I'm weird."
"Adam."
"I don't know, kinda" he shrugged. "He was like that the other night too, but he didn't want to talk about it so I let it go. I'm sure it's nothing, he's probably just in a weird mood, happens to me sometimes."
"You don't say?" Fiona laughed typing away on her phone.
"Hey" a gruff voice said from behind them.
"Speak of the Devil" Fiona mumbled as they turned to see Eli, his coat and scarf already on.
"What?" he asked confused.
"What?" Adam repeated causing Eli to roll his eyes in defeat as he slumped against the locker.
"Where's Imo at? I figured she would be pushing people out of the way to get here first."
He didn't have to wait long for his answer as a squeal sounded from down the hall followed by Imogen, bundled up in her bright blue coat holding a plastic sled over her head as she ran towards their group doing a chant similar to Adam's from that morning.
"Can you believe we're going sledding Clare Edwards? I'm so excited!" she sang before Clare could even reply. "Look!" she exclaimed pulling her mitten off and revealing her shaking hand, "I'm tingling with excitement!"
"Please tell me you don't carry a sled with you everywhere, Immy" Eli said eyeing the plastic circle in her hand.
"Course not, Eli Goldsworthy, that would just be silly!" Imogen laughed. "Daddy always keeps one in his car; he brought it over during his lunch break."
"Why does your dad keep a sled in his car?" Fiona questioned sharing a look with Eli.
"You never know when you'll need one" Imogen answered as if it was obvious, "what if you need to trap a giant spider? Or play giant Frisbee? Plus they make great plates for my animal friends."
"They're also good for sledding" Adam added. "And this" he brought the sled up in front of Imogen as he leaned forward to kiss her.
"Well I'm gonna go wait by the car" Eli announced feeling awkward. Adam raised his hand from behind the sleigh to give him a thumbs up as Fiona and Clare quickly followed, not wanting to intrude on the couple's moment.
Clare made sure Fiona was still busy texting away on her phone as she approached Eli, touching him gently on the shoulder, "Hey, are you feeling alright?"
"Peachy" he answered still looking straight ahead. Already sensing her next words he sighed, "I'm fine, why?"
"Just wondering" she shrugged not wanting to push the subject as they approached Hank. Clare leaned against the van watching Fiona almost walk into a few people still typing away on her phone when she heard Eli sigh from beside her. She turned to look at him, noticing the conflict on his face when he opened his mouth as if to say something, but was cut off by the entrance of Adam and Imogen doing a duet version of their "Going Sledding" chant.
Clare looked back at Eli but he shook his head, indicating whatever he was going to say he wouldn't do so in front of everyone else. She thought about saying something to him or perhaps try one of Alli's flirting techniques, but found herself being ushered into the van by a very impatient Imogen complaining that she was taking too long and that the snow would be melted by the time they got there at the pace she was going.
Giving up for now, Imogen was surprisingly strong for her size, Clare slid across the backseat as Imogen and Adam climbed into the driver and passenger seats respectfully. Adam banged the horn a few times to inspire the same urgency in Fiona and Eli who were talking quietly outside the van.
The older girl raised a finger to Adam for him to hold on as she said a few more words to Eli before putting a comforting hand on his back. Clare watched as they exchanged smiles trying to figure out why Eli would talk to Fiona about whatever was going on with him rather than her but decided to let it slide as the two entered the van, much to the apparent relief of Adam and Imogen.
"About time, Immy's dying over here!" Adam teased motioning to an unmoving Imogen, her mouth agape with her tongue rolling out.
"Oh, they're here? What year is it?" Imogen croaked, seemingly coming back to life.
"Well, judging by your outfit yesterday, 1995" Fiona quipped shooting Imogen a look.
"What's wrong with overalls?" Imogen replied jutting out her lip.
"What isn't wrong with them?"
XXX
After a quick stop at the Torres house to grab the sled the gang arrived at their destination: a big, open clearing on the outskirts of town leading up to a large hill, the snow still untouched.
"It's so pretty" Fiona sang, spinning in a circle to take in the view as Imogen dropped to the ground to make a snow angel while the boys unloaded the van.
"How'd you find this place, Adam?" Clare asked, already in love with the scenery.
"This is where Drew and I would come before we moved to Degrassi. Everyone else would sled at the park by our old school but I didn't really like being around all those people, I was still transitioning from Gracie to Adam so anywhere I went I'd get made fun of" Adam explained grabbing the small plastic sled, forcing Eli to lug the big toboggan by himself. "You see that fence over there?" he pointed to a worn looking fence across the way. "The last time we came Drew got stuck in there. We were racing and he hit a patch of ice, totally lost control and smashed into it" he laughed. "It took me a whole hour to get him out, he's completely useless, just sitting there complaining how he's stuck while I'm doing all the work."
"How old were you guys?" Clare asked imaging a little kid version of Adam and Drew wreaking havoc.
"13 and 14" he answered with a laugh.
"Not surprised" Eli commented. "How did you guys race with just the one sled though?"
Adam shook his head explaining, "Well, we used to have two sleds, but Drew's fat ass broke the other."
"Oh, that reminds me!" Fiona exclaimed, "I've got your Frostival tickets already set aside, so you all owe me $2. No excuses."
"Drew's fat ass reminds you of the Frostival?" Eli laughed, earning a shove from Fiona.
"Can it, Goldsworthy" she snapped only encouraging his laughter.
"Hey, don't couples get a deal?" Adam asked throwing his arm around Imogen.
"Fine, $5" Fiona said rolling her eyes.
Pleased with her answer, Adam and Imogen quickly raced to the top of the hill, eager to leave the first prints in the fresh snow as Fiona hobbled along behind them, careful to follow in the path they left so as not to get snow on her new leggings leaving Eli and Clare behind.
"So, Frostival huh? Sounds great." Clare stated giving Eli a nudge, deciding at that moment Alli's flirting advice wasn't going to do her any good.
"Oh yeah, bright lights, carnies and cotton candy, my three favorite things" he teased.
"But you're still going to show up, right?" Clare asked, trying to keep the desperation out of her tone.
"Course" he nodded, "I'm pretty sure Fi would hunt me down if I skipped. What about you?"
"Yeah, I think it'll be fun plus all my friends will be there. Alli is even in charge of the kissing booth, her and some girl named Tori."
"Remind me to stay away from the kissing booth" Eli mentioned, shuddering slightly.
Clare smiled, happy Eli seemed put off by the thought of kissing Alli, something her other two exes not only thought about, but actually did. "Speaking of Alli, I'm sorry for the way I was acting earlier, at your locker" she clarified by the confused look on his face, "I think I made you uncomfortable. Alli gave me some advice and obviously it didn't work very well."
"It's fine" he shook his head, "you just caught me off guard, but I'm curious, what was the reaction you were looking for if not me tensing up and Adam laughing at you?"
Oh you know, just for you to flirt back and admit you still have feelings for me too Clare thought, "Um…oh look, Adam and Imogen are already at the top of the hill" she sputtered, avoiding Eli's knowing glance. Lucky for her he didn't push any further as they hurried up the hill to join the others.
"Now what?" Fiona asked looking down at the steep slope as Eli and Clare made their way over to the others.
"Now it's time to put your money where your mouth is, Coyne" Adam said gesturing wildly.
Fiona looked around for help, "English please?"
Rolling his eyes, Adam explained, "It means let's race!"
"Are we actually betting on the winner?" Eli asked, "cause I didn't bring a lot of money."
"No man!" Adam threw his hands in the air in frustration. "It's a saying, I had this cool moment and you ruined it. We're gonna race, no money involved, just racing. Come on Imogen; let's show them how it's done."
Eli shook his head as Adam and Imogen loaded up into the smaller, circle sled and the other three headed towards the toboggan. Clare wasn't sure if she should sit in the front, being the smallest, or let Fiona take the front so she could sit in the back with Eli. She didn't have to wonder very long as Fiona directed her to the front of the sleigh after exchanging a glance with Eli.
Clare grasped the rope tightly between her hands trying not to think about how high up they were as Fiona and Eli got situated, his foot kicking her numerous times in the elbow while Fiona tried to decide if she should keep her hands on Clare's waist or her shoulders, eventually settling on her waist earning a laugh from both the boys.
"Alright, on your mark…." Adam started; Imogen lounged across his lap as he held the two handles tightly, his feet being the only thing keep them from flying down the hill. "…get set."
Clare looked back at Eli, who gave her a comforting smile, his hands, like Adam, ready to propel them down the hill. "GO!" Adam yelled and instantly they were speeding off, the weight of their combined bodies shooting them down the hill as little Adam and Imogen were left in the dust.
Clare did her best to keep the sled pointed downhill to avoid any accidents like Drew had, but the snow flying in her face made it hard to see and Fiona's ever tightening grip on her sides wasn't helping. Eventually their momentum died down and they slowed to a stop, her hands still holding the rope in a death grip as a laughing Adam and Imogen finally pulled to a stop next to them.
"Again, again" Imogen sang grabbing the sled and taking off for the top of the hill.
After that first go, all the awkwardness from that day seemed to go with it, leaving them all carefree, the only problem being who was going to ride on which sled. The boys took turns tackling Fiona into the snow as they knew how much she hated it, but even she couldn't keep from laughing as she hurled snow balls at them in retaliation. Imogen was in her own little world, throwing snow into the air and exclaiming that it was snowing before flopping down to create snow angels. When Clare would take too long on her trek back up the hill Eli would throw her over his shoulder and race up it as Adam tried to do the same with Imogen until Fiona would jump on his back, sending all three of them into the ground.
They all took turns racing each other, Adam and Clare vs. Eli, Fiona and Imogen in which Adam and Clare dominated as their sled started spinning out of control from their speed, but Adam's kung-fu grip on the handles prevented them from crashing. Then, they tried boys vs. girls with Eli sprawled across Adam on the small plastic sled as the girls filed into the toboggan. The boys being too top-heavy, their sled turned over immediately, giving the girls an easy win. Fiona and Imogen won by a landslide in the next round as the other sled flipped over sideways, throwing Eli, Adam and Clare into the snow about halfway down the hill.
"Alright, alright, that was good" Eli said, motioning to a triumphant Fiona and Imogen who were still doing their victory dance even at the top of the hill, "but let The Master show you how it's done, Clare?"
She looked down at his extended hand and back up to his face, still a little hesitant around him. His cheeks were bright red from the cold; his messy hair matted to his forehead from the melted snow, but in his eyes was all the assurance she needed, the obvious wall he had up earlier that day no longer there.
Nodding her head, Clare grabbed his hand in hers as he helped her onto his lap; placing a secure arm around her while the other gripped the small sled beneath them. She snuck a glance back at him, hoping she wasn't making him uncomfortable.
Pressing his lips to her ear, he whispered, "Hey, I've got you, I'm not going to let anything bad happen okay?" She nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment as her stomach fluttered uncomfortably, either from being on a flimsy plastic sled at the top of a hill or how she was sitting in Eli Goldsworthy's lap on a flimsy plastic sled at the top of a hill. Sensing her nerves, he pulled her tighter to him so she could faintly feel his heart beating against her back as his breath tickled the back of her neck, this was so not helping.
Before she knew it, Adam cried Go and they were off, hurtling down the hill at an alarming rate, fearfully Clare grabbed onto Eli's hand clutching the handle, holding on for dear life. She closed her eyes, listening to Eli's laughter as they kept going, she could hear the wind whistling in her ears and Adam's faint shouts, but the thing that caught her attention was Eli's worried, "Oh shit."
Immediately she snapped her eyes open, but it was too late. They had hit a raised sheet of ice, instantly sending them airborne. Clare didn't know if they were 3 meters in the air or 2 centimeters, but she was positive she was going to die. Squeezing her eyes shut once more, she screamed as she waited for her inevitable plummet to the earth.
Surprisingly, well to Clare at least, when they did land only a few seconds later, she didn't die. Nope, they managed to land halfway on the sled before their momentum threw them off, sending them rolling down the hill until they finally came to a stop with Eli slumped over top of Clare and their sled continuing its course downhill without a driver.
Clare was still in shock from not only surviving the crash, but coming out unscathed that she didn't even realize Eli was on top of her…for a moment at least. The groan coming out of his mouth as he raised his head, just a few inches from hers, however clued her in to the situation.
"Shit, Clare, I'm sorry" he mumbled.
"It's fine" she breathed, trying not to look at his lips. The same lips she couldn't get out of her head the past few days, the same lips Alli suggested she just go ahead and kiss already. It would be easy to, all she had to do was tilt her head up and they would be kissing. It was so tempting.
Eli gulped, probably just noticing their proximity as his eyes instantly dropped down to her own lips. She cautiously brought her hand up to brush away the snow from his bangs and when he didn't move away she took that as a sign. Slowly, Clare brought her face to his, but before she could connect their lips he pulled away, his guard coming back up.
"Um, we should…" he trailed before standing and brushing himself off as she did the same, the hurt written all over her face but he refused to look at her. "Are…are you okay?" he asked making her wonder if he meant from the crash or his rejection.
"I'm fine" she replied shortly as Adam and the girls came running over, their little moment not going unnoticed as Fiona instantly went over to Eli's side, whispering a few words in his ear with him giving her a curt nod in reply.
"Holy shit, you guys! That was epic!" Adam shouted motioning for Clare and Eli to give him high fives.
"What? Oh, the crash" Clare mumbled, still glaring at Eli and Fiona.
"It was just like something from the movies" Adam continued, too excited to notice the newfound tension, "you hit that ice and I swear it was like slow motion, you know? I was just like 'no way' and then you crashed and I was like 'damn!', it was seriously cool."
"Maybe we should head home" Fiona suggested eyeing the sky, "it's starting to get dark."
"Boo!" Imogen cried, "Eli and I haven't gone yet, please Fions? Please, please, please?"
"Alright" Adam said clapping his hands together, "I guess I can kick your ass one more time."
"Oh we'll see about that Mr. Torres" Imogen sang before grabbing Eli's hand and making for the top of the hill once more.
Clare sat in the front of the toboggan gripping the rope tightly with Fiona's hands on her waist and Adam's sneakers on either side of her. Across from her was Eli, all happy go lucky with Imogen in his lap. Now, Clare wasn't a particularly jealous person, but she was still a little bitter from his latest rejection just to see him with his ex-girlfriend in his lap, laughing away as he tickled her sides.
"Hey now, that's my woman" Adam teased, "keep your hands to yourself, Goldsworthy." Eli only tightened his grip around Imogen at Adam's words, making the others laugh as Clare tried to keep herself under control. She had been hurt before, no doubt, but this type of aggression was something new to her and she wasn't sure where it was coming from. Maybe all the weeks of buildup Eli had been giving her only to reject her, maybe it was the fact he was all cuddled up with his ex, or the fact that he had been refusing to talk to her all day but didn't seem to have any problem talking to Fiona, either way, it was getting to her.
Suddenly, Eli and Imogen took off, their laughter still floating in the air as Adam cried out "Hey, cheaters!" With a few good shoves from Adam, they set off, still a good distance behind the other two. Even though they were gaining a good amount of speed, Clare watched as Eli and Imogen made it to the bottom of the hill, Imogen jumping around excited for the win.
"Damn cheaters" she heard Adam curse from behind her as they neared the bottom, their sled still moving at a rapid pace.
Unaware of her actions, Clare realized their sled was charging right at Eli and Imogen, still ignorant in their victory bliss, maybe it was gravity, perhaps fate or bad luck, or maybe it was the fact Clare was steering them in that direction, who knows.
Imogen managed to see them coming and got out of the way before a collision…Eli wasn't so lucky. He had his back to the sled, still laughing at the look on Adam's face as they took off to pay attention to the commotion behind him.
Clare could hear Adam's urgent cries of "Stop, stop, stop, stop!" from behind her and Fiona's shrill scream, but all she could focus on was Eli and the hurt she felt.
Suddenly, they hit him, right in the back of the legs as they sped on and he was taken airborne once more before landing in a heap on the ground.
There was a large pile of snow that had built up and fortunately brought them to a halt as they smashed into it, further preventing them from running down any other ex-boyfriends.
Adam and Fiona instantly ran over to Eli once they stopped, but Clare took her time, feeling at peace now that she had gotten the anger out of her system…but it didn't last long. The guilt flooded her senses as she realized just what she had done when she saw Eli laying on the ground holding his right leg…the same leg he had broken last spring.
"Dude, are you okay? I'm sorry man, we were just going so fast, I didn't even see you until it was too late" Adam was saying not sure what he could do to help his friend. Imogen stood behind him, her hand over her mouth looking worried as Fiona sat crouched by his side.
"Oh my gosh Eli, I'm so sorry" Clare said rushing over to him to inspect the damage.
"It's fine, don't worry about it" he insisted, but the grimace on his face said otherwise.
Eventually they got him back to the van, Adam and Fiona had to help him limp his way over, but he got there. Imogen sang to the radio as Adam tried to explain to Drew over the phone how to make spaghetti, apparently it was date night for him and Bianca while Fiona typed away on her phone presumably to Holly J, leaving Eli and Clare alone once more.
"Does it hurt?" she asked shyly as he kept his gaze straight ahead.
"I told you Clare, it's fine."
"I really am sorry" she insisted, placing her hand over his.
"You said that already" he replied, pulling his hand from hers and stuffing them deep into his pockets so she couldn't try again.
Clare tried to hold herself together at his action, why was he being so cold? "Are you mad at me?" she whispered, a slight tremble in her voice, "because I am sorry Eli, it was an-"
He sighed loudly, his head falling back, "No Clare, I just" he covered his face with his hands in frustration, "I can't do this right now, okay? Drop it."
She could feel the tears sting her eyes at the harshness of his tone, what was going on with him? Sure, she ran him over with a sled and that was pretty crappy of her, but this attitude he had with her and only her had been going on all day and she did was getting fed up. What could she have done to piss him off so much?
"OMG Clare, this top would look amazing on you" Fiona commented from beside her. Turning to look, Clare realized she was on some clothing website, checking out the deals and was pointing out a gorgeous blue top that was worth more than Jake's truck she was willing to bet. Clare was about to tell the other girl she wasn't in the mood for shopping at the moment when she caught Fiona's eye and it became obvious to her: Fiona was trying to distract Clare from the obvious tension between her and Eli and for that she was very grateful for the girl beside her.
Adam must have caught on to the friction as he dropped Eli off first, not after helping him to the door of course then proceeding to Clare's house despite the fact Fiona's loft wasn't all too far, probably to discuss what the hell just happened she thought. She said goodbye and watched as they drove off before entering the house ready to call Alli and tell her just how well her flirting advice worked for her.
XXX
The next day, after a very long talk with Alli about how her flirting techniques failed her (Alli insisted it was Clare who failed them); she sat alone in her house flipping through one her many novels trying to find something to do. Her mom and Glen had gone to an antique store downtown while Jake went to hang out with his friend Mo at his house.
She wasn't in the mood to read, she wasn't really in the mood to do anything, but thought if she went through her books they might spark something inside of her to prevent her from completely wasting her day, but try as she might, it wasn't happening. With a heavy sigh she placed her John Green book back on the shelf a few away from the Fight Club novel she had got on her first date with Eli.
He was like a little kid in a candy shop that night, the big grin never leaving his face; Clare could have sworn he almost squealed with glee when Chuck answered one of his questions. Afterwards Eli had bought her this book, even though she already owned a copy and had Chuck himself sign it along with the stacks Eli had brought along.
Clare smiled to herself, losing herself in the memory as she pulled the book from its resting place. Careful not to bend the cover, she opened it up to the cover page that had Chuck Palahniuk's messy scrawl on top of it with a short message and the date. Was it really that long ago? Clare thought. It seemed so far, yet she could remember tugging on Eli's tie as if it was only yesterday.
Ruefully, she placed the book back on the shelf a little harder than she intended as the memories of the previous day flooded her mind. They were doing so well she thought, ever since her and Eli started hanging out again things had been going smoothly, sure there were other issues on the side, but between them things were great…or at least they had been.
She wasn't sure if it was the painful flirting she attempted to pull on him, but he didn't seem to want anything to do with her. He had opened up briefly after they had been sledding, only to close himself off again, such a distinct change from the first date memories she had been caught up in.
Suddenly determined, Clare stood up and grabbed her coat as her marched downstairs, she was not going to let this little bump in the road ruin her friendship with Eli. Maybe he didn't think her apology the previous day was sincere enough and the fact that she ran him over couldn't be helping much. She had her mind set on doing whatever it took to get back in his good books; they had built up such a great relationship just for things to turn downhill at some amateur flirting and reckless sledding.
Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as cold as the day before as Clare made the walk over to the Goldsworthy house, only slipping a few times, what had to be a personal best. Only mildly frozen, she raised her fist to knock, taking a moment to thank God for Bullfrog's car in the driveway, she could only imagine walking over here and for no one to be home.
She didn't have to wait long as Cece Goldsworthy, apron around her waist and flour on her Def Leppard shirt, opened the door. "Baby Girl, I didn't know you were coming over! Come on in, I'm making cookies, I promise not to burn them this time, you wanna help?"
"Oh thanks Cece" Clare smiled, the small house smelling deliciously of sugar cookies as the older woman took her coat. "I was actually here to talk to Eli if that's okay? He is here right?"
"That little brat didn't tell me he invited you" Cece glared up at the ceiling as if her irritation could penetrate walls.
"Oh he doesn't know I'm here" Clare corrected quickly.
A look of realization quickly replaced her annoyance, "Oh, okay. Well go on up sweetie, but make sure you knock real loud first, Bullfrog and I learned that one the hard way" she laughed.
Clare nodded as Cece headed back into the kitchen singing an old Twisted Sister song as she did. She tried to listen as she stood outside Eli's door, hoping for a clue as to what she could expect, but there was nothing. Normally he would have his radio playing that stuff he calls music at any hour of the day, but not today, the fact slightly unnerving Clare as she knocked briskly against the wood.
"Cece I told you I don't want any of your damn cookies" Eli grumbled from the other side.
"She's not going to be happy to learn that" Clare teased. She could faintly hear the springs of his bed squeak and his heavy footsteps before the door swung open, revealing a tired looking Eli, dressed in a black Offspring shirt and a pair of dark sweatpants.
"Clare…what are you doing here?" he eyed her up and down as his brow only furrowed more.
"I came to see you" she smiled, hoping to brighten his mood…to no avail, "and to apologize."
He stood a moment longer before he retreated back into his room, the door still open as Clare took that as a good sign, following him in. Closing the door behind her, she sat down at the chair by his desk as he flopped back onto his bed, placing an ice pack on his right ankle, the action making Clare cringe.
"Does it hurt?" she asked eyeing what looked like a dark bruise before Eli pulled the leg of his pants down to cover it.
"It's fine, nothing I can't handle" he replied shortly.
"I really am sorry Eli" she insisted, "I wasn't trying to hurt you, I was just so upset and then there you were…"
"Wait" he interrupted, "are you saying you ran me over on purpose?"
She looked up, the guilt written all over her face as she prepared for his anger, ready to beg for his forgiveness, but instead was met with his laughter.
"Damn, Edwards" he shook his head.
Clare looked around bewildered, waiting for Ashton Kutcher and his Punk'd buddies to jump out, yeah she knows he's not on it anymore but when she watched it he was, deal with it. "Are you laughing at me?" she accused.
He held up his hand, his forefinger and thumb a few centimeters apart, indicating he was in fact laughing at her. "It's just, it's you!" he tried to explain, "You're like the nicest person on the planet…and you ran me over."
"I really am sorry" she insisted as she too, laughed at his logic.
Eli waved a dismissing hand, "Don't worry about it, I'll live, it's just a little awkward to walk on. But now that the truth is out, why did you run me over?"
Clare's laughter suddenly died down, she knew she wouldn't be able to weasel out of this one. Shrugging she mumbled, "I was jealous."
"Jealous? Of what?" he asked not following.
Clare sighed, spinning in a full circle in his chair before he stuck a hand out to stop her, not in the mood for one of her games. "Imogen" she admitted, still avoiding his eyes.
"What?" he sat up completely, his hand still on her chair pulling her close. "Clare, why would you be jealous of Imo?" he asked clearly unsure.
She ran an irritated hand through her hair, "I don't know. It's just…you were acting so weird around me…" she saw how his eyes instantly dropped to the floor at her words, "…and then you were all cuddly with her. And every time I tried to talk to you, it seemed like I was making you mad, but every time I turn around there you are with Fiona talking away. I just, felt left out I guess and my anger got the better of me just in time to run you over."
"Clare" Eli said softly, the tone of his voice catching her by surprise, "you have nothing to be jealous of. Immy and I we're just friends, you know that and I wasn't talking to Fi in spite of you. It's just Fi and I, we get each other." He paused, obviously uncomfortable with the topic before a small smirk graced his face, "That's another thing we have in common."
She shot him a questioning look, not sure where he was going with this.
He smiled, "We both do stupid things when we're jealous. I smash computers and slip ipecac into people's drinks while you just run over them with a sled."
Clare smiled lightly, agreeing they both let their emotions get the best of them at times, but something he said caught her attention. "You never told me why you broke that computer..."
"Shit" he mumbled, giving her a sheepish smile, "any chance you'll forget I said that?"
"On one condition" she started, catching his eye, "you tell me why you've been acting so strange around me."
Instantly Eli's eyes tore away from hers, "Clare, come on" he groaned.
"What? We're friends, we talk about this sort of thing" she defended. "When I was upset you were there for me and if there's something going on with you I want to be there for you. Was it something I did? If I made you uncomfortable somehow you need to tell me and I'll make sure I won't do it anymore…was it the flirting? I told you that was Alli's stupid idea-"
"Clare" he placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her from rambling on, "you're fine, you haven't done anything wrong."
"Then why have you been acting so…off lately?" she whispered, trying to read his face.
Reluctantly Eli sighed, leaning back onto the bed, his voice just above a whisper, "I…I'm in a bit of a down swing right now" he admitted. He looked over at her face as he explained further, "Being bipolar, even with therapy and medication you still have your highs and lows…right now this is a low point. This isn't the first time, Dr. Frank says it's just one of those things I have to get used to, I even have a mood journal I'm supposed to track them in."
"How long has this been going on?" Clare asked, willing him to look her in the eye once more.
He shrugged noncommittally, "A few days, they don't seem to last too long. I think the longest one I had lasted about a week or so."
"What exactly does that mean, a low point?" Clare asked not wanting to jump to conclusions, he already seemed uncomfortable enough.
"I have a hard time sleeping, not much of an appetite and I don't really feel like doing anything. If you guys weren't there to drag me along I probably would've just stayed home yesterday." He sighed deeply, his hand running through his hair; "I just feel real sad, like I'm worthless" he let out a humorless laugh.
"You're not worthless" Clare argued, wondering if a hug would be outside of his comfort level at the moment, "why didn't you tell me you were feeling like this?"
He shrugged noncommittally, "Everyone else has seen me like this already, they've had to deal with me, and I didn't want you to know something was wrong. I didn't" he paused looking up at her, "I didn't want my illness to drive you away again."
"Eli" Clare sighed, standing to move beside him on the bed, gently taking one of his hands in hers "I don't ever want you to feel that way. You're not going to drive me away."
"I did before" he pointed out gruffly.
"Things are different now. Before, we didn't know what was going on with you, you weren't' acting like yourself and it was scary" she recalled squeezing his hand to keep herself together, "But you've gotten help, you're doing so much better and one little low point isn't going to change any of that. I'm here, as long as you need me. I don't want you to be afraid to talk about your feelings with me and that goes for everything. We can't have a good friendship while walking on eggshells around each other."
"Well in that case, there's something I should tell you" Eli started, turning to Clare with a serious look in his eyes; "…your taste in music is atrocious."
It took her a moment to register exactly what he said, but the small smirk creeping onto his face gave it all away, "Hey!" she said affronted, "I do believe it was me that turned you onto Arcade Fire"
He smiled, "One decent band isn't going to change anything."
"You're impossible" she laughed, nudging his shoulder. He smiled back at her before his features grew soft and he was giving her that look again, the one that could bring a blush to her cheeks and butterflies to her stomach. She started to grow uncomfortable as he blatantly stared at her, the intense look in his eyes making her feel raw and exposed to him.
Eli squeezed her hand, bringing her eyes back up to his own as he spoke just above a whisper, "I really missed you."
Clare smiled softly, she chalked it up to his current vulnerable state, but that didn't make her any less happy to hear the words they had both been dying to say since they rekindled their friendship, "I really missed you too Eli. Don't worry, those times are behind us, I'm not going anywhere."
For the second time in 2 days she watched as his eyes dipped down to her lips, she tried to ignore the little jolt she felt at his actions, she knew he would pull back in a matter of seconds just as he did the day before.
But to her immense surprise, he didn't pull back, instead he moved forwards ever so slowly, giving her a chance to turn away. Clare wasn't having any of that, oh my God he's actually going to kiss me she thought excitedly as his eyes fluttered closed.
She brought her hand up to his chest, gripping his shirt tight in her hand just as the tips of their noses brushed, she was so close.
Right as their lips barely grazed each other's Eli's bedroom room swung open as Cece walked in holding a platter of cookies, totally oblivious, "Cookies are done, thought you kids might be hungr-OH MY GOSH!"
Both teens flew backwards as if they had been burned at Cece's intrusion, Eli's back slamming against his headboard as Clare shot up to the other side of the room, a dark blush coating both their cheeks.
"I am so sorry!" Cece exclaimed her eyes wide while she looked frantically between the two, "just pretend that didn't happen, look, I'm leaving, I'm not even here!"
She quickly backed out of the door she just came from and slammed it shut, only to poke her head back in, earning a groan from her son, "Sorry, me again, I forgot your cookies." Cece placed the plate full of cookies onto the floor as she apologized once more and retreated for good this time, an awkward silence left in her wake.
Clare stood over to the side of the room, unsure of what to do as she glanced over at Eli, his eyes wide and avoiding her as he stared down at his lap. "I think I should go" she said, her voice cracking despite herself.
"Yeah."
She waited a few seconds for some type of goodbye, but assumed by his actions she wasn't going to get one. Nodding to herself, Clare quickly turned on her heel and headed out the door, nearly running into Cece who was standing just outside the door looking guilty.
"Oh hey Baby Girl, leaving so soon? I've got some more cookies baking if you want to stay."
"Um thanks Cece, but I should be getting home…I've got...curfew" Clare tried lamely avoiding the hopeful woman's eyes.
"A curfew? It's only 5:30" Cece questioned looking at her watch.
"Yeah, my parents are pretty strict" she mumbled wishing Cece would move so she could make her escape down the stairs.
The older woman nodded unconvinced, "Well at least let me give you a ride and I can pack of tin of cookies for you?"
"That's okay, I'd rather walk" Clare answered knowing she needed some time to go over what just happened, Alli was going to have a heyday.
"Okay, I'll have Eli take some cookies to school for you. Bye Honey" Cece called as Clare raced down the stairs and out the door.
Taking a look back at her son's door she figured she ought to do some damage control. Peeking into the door once more she walked over to Eli, still stunned on his bed.
"So…" Cece started, taking a seat on his bed, "did I totally ruin things for you and Clare? I'm so sorry, I should've knocked, I wasn't thinking."
Before Eli could reply Bullfrog walked into the room, his hair a mess, clearly he had been asleep moments before "What's goin' on with all this door-slamming? Can't a man get some sleep around here?" He looked from Eli, still quiet on his bed over to his wife who was trying to send him a message by nodding towards Eli. Never good at being discreet, Bullfrog shrugged, "What? Did I miss something?"
Cece sighed, at least she tried, "I walked in on the kids kissing just a moment ago" she admitted.
"We didn't kiss!" Eli exclaimed, finally speaking, as Bullfrog jumped at his voice.
"Well you were on your way" his mother argued.
"Little Clarabelle?" Bullfrog interrupted, missing several details.
Cece nodded, "You know I'm always doing that, I just have a knack for ruining moments" she laughed. "Remember the time your father and I were going to go to that charity concert, but he forgot the car keys and you two were going at in on the couch when we came back inside?
Or when I found you in your bedroom after school, who knew little Clare could be so handsy? My girl!"
"Cece!" Eli exclaimed.
"Hey don't forget that time we caught 'em in the back of Morty!" Bullfrog added, ruffling Eli's hair.
"Bullfrog!"
"Oh of course, Clare was so embarrassed" Cece said thinking back on the flustered girl.
"Yeah and the boy here kept trying to cover himself as if we didn't know what was going on" Bullfrog laughed.
"Dad!" he tried once more.
"Don't worry honey, there's always next time, I promise not to interrupt, maybe you could put a sock on your door, that's what we did back in my day" Cece recalled, sharing a wink with her husband.
"Don't you get it?" Eli yelled, gaining both adults' attention, "there's not going to be a 'next time'. I just got caught up in the moment; it was stupid, I'm glad you walked in when you did."
Bullfrog cocked an eyebrow as he stage whispered to his wife, "…is he doing that sarcastic thing again?"
Cece shrugged, "I'm not sure."
Rolling his eyes, Eli huffed, "I'm being honest! Clare and I…we're better off as friends. It's time I start accepting that."
"Okay honey" Cece said, not wanting to further upset him as her and Bullfrog slowly backed out of the room, shutting the door behind them.
Eli took a deep breath to try and calm himself down, it seemed like a thousand different emotions were pumping through him and he couldn't focus. Frustrated, he picked up the plate of cookies still resting on his floor and hurled it at the wall, the plate shattering as he fell back onto his bed thinking of the awkward upcoming school day where he'd have to face Clare once more.