A/N: Ah, the beloved morning after hangover... so much fun. So here's the latest installment! Also, thinking about starting another story for Instant Star, where Jude meets Tommy when she's hired to be his body guard. Tell me what you guys think about that, if it's worth pursuing. Without further ado, chapter 10. - K

Clare tried to hit the sunlight away from her face. Finally, her eyes peaked open to her room. She immediately felt the headache, and bit of the nausea from the night before.

Eli was sleeping on the floor shirtless, and she was in a tank top and shorts on her bed.

"Oh god," she breathed. She heard someone coming down the hall and began to panic. Before she could hide Eli, the door creaked open.

"Good. You're alive," Jenna chuckled handing Clare a glass of water. "There's nothing like the first time..." Clare lookd mortified and panicked. Jenna looked at Clare, then Eli, and realized what was going on. "Oh god! No Clare, you didn't sleep with him." Jenna nodded to the hallway and Clare got up to follow her.

"Jenna. What did I do last night?" she asked nervously.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"Eli and Jake taking me off the balcony."

"Ok. We took you home. You proceeded to puke all over yourself and Eli, hence his shirt off and you're wardrobe change. By the way, I changed you and you're paying for my dry cleaning. And the three of us took shifts helping you to the bathroom and making you drink water throughout the night. Though Eli insisted on doing most of it."

"Oh my god," Clare began to panic again. "Is my mom here?"

"They stayed with your aunt this weekend, remember?" Jenna said. "They left you guys home alone since Jake's eighteen and you're outrageously responsible." She said the last phrase somewhat sarcastically.

"Oh god," Clare leaned against the wall. "Did I do anything else humiliating?"

"Besides all of that, plus kissing Eli and telling him you love him?" Jenna suggested. "Nope that's it. Gotta go." She immediately raced downstairs.

Clare started to go back into her room and bumped directly into a still shirtless Eli.

"Oh sorry." She became even more embarrassed and rushed past him.

"Clare?" He asked as she looked for a sweatshirt in one of her drawers. "You wanna talk about last night?"

"What about it?" She turned around, bracing herself for his response to the drunken 'I love you.'

"How about how much of an idiot you were?" Eli asked.

"Look I know I said some things-"

"It doesn't matter what you said!" He snapped. Clare was taken aback, she rarely saw his angry side. "Clare. You had so much to drink last night, you weren't even yourself. We almost took you to the hospital, but Jake said by the time we did you would have already gotten rid of it."

"Sorry for puking on you by the way," she shot in.

"I don't care," he exasperated and raised his voice. "You were reckless, and stupid, and did something really dangerous!"

"Could you not yell?" She asked tiredly. She raised her voice back. "Ok. I'm sorry. Clare Edwards finally screwed up! Let's crucify her!"

"Quit acting like you never do anything wrong," he took a step closer to her. "You're not perfect. You've screwed up plenty of times before this."

"Then why are you yelling at me now?" she said quietly.

"Because you scared the crap out of me," he admitted. Both his face and voice softened. "You had a lot to drink Clare. And we didn't know where you were. I couldn't find you... if anything ever happened to you..."

"I'm sorry," she said truthfully. "I was an idiot. And I know better. I'm so sorry Eli." She walked towards him and they embraced.

"Please. Don't do that again?" He begged.

"Promise," she pulled away. "Two drink limit."

"Wow, you made it downstairs," Jake said taking pancakes out of a pan and putting it in a plate as Clare and Eli entered the kitchen. Clare slumped into a chair next to Jenna. "Who wants pancakes?" Jake put the plate on the center of the table and Jenna and Eli began to serve themselves.

"Oh god," Clare put her hand to her head feeling queasy again.

"I figured that," Jake smirked. He put a bottle of ibuprofen and a box of crackers in front of her. "Eat up sis."

She glared at him and immediately grabbed the bottle. "You're a jackass."

"And I'm sure that's the hangover talking," he said sitting down and shoving a bite of pancakes in his mouth.

"Thanks again for taking care of me last night," Clare said as Eli gathered his things in her room.

"You know you don't have to thank me," he smiled back at her.

"Oh, so you enjoyed it?"

"Touche," he laughed as he pulled his t-shirt over his head.

"Eli," Clare began. He looked at her expectantly. "About everything I said and did last night..."

"Clare, I'm guessing you don't even remember half of it..."

"Oh no," she said a bit embarrassed. "I remember. And what I didn't, Jenna filled in the blanks for me."

"Oh," he was a bit surprised. "Don't worry about it. You were drunk and emotional, and I was there for you. You weren't thinking and didn't mean it. Forget it happened." She was about to respond as he checked his phone but he continued before she could speak. "Hey, I gotta get going. But I'll see you in school on Monday." He walk out the door before Clare could say what she originally wanted to.

"But I meant it..." she whispered to he empty room.