Battle of Love

Chapter 10

CLARE

I crept down the wretched-smelling corridor in search of KC with Eli close at my side. He kept walking slightly ahead of me, apparently trying to shield me with his body, but it wasn't working seeing as I was trying to do the same thing for him. Such an odd thing love is.

"Eli, can we just walk?" I giggled as I caught up to match his tempo. He nodded his head and threw an arm over my shoulder, pulling me flush against his side.

"Will do, Blue Eyes. We both go down together, right?"

"If by 'going down together' you mean getting the heck out of here together; then yes Green Eyes, you're correct."

Eli grinned and then pressed his uplifted lips to my forehead. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to ingrain the delightful sensation of his warm lips on my skin into my memory. I may have been hiding it extremely well, but inside I was feeling hopelessly pessimistic about the outcome of this whole ordeal. It was difficult to concur with, but Fitz had outsmarted us in the long run. Well, more like outgunned us, but that's beside the point. The point was that there was an enormous possiblity that either Eli, I or both of us were going to be killed very soon, and I needed to savor every moment that we had together. I couldn't deny that our relationship was rather out of the blue, but honestly I didn't care anymore. Eli makes me feel safe and loved and wonderful and so many other things and I wouldn't wish to spend my last moments with anyone else. I love him.

"I love you." Eli whispered in my ear and hugged me tighter to his side.

"I was just thinking the same thing about you." I admitted.

"Well that's good to know because it means I get to do this-" Eli said as he swooped down and kissed me, taking my breath away. I closed my eyes and moved my lips with his passionately. Things started to escalate when Eli moved his hand up and down my spine, finally resting it on my lower back and making me shiver in pleasure. I couldn't even remember my own name, let alone the fact that there was a knife hanging over our heads. Eli and I opened our mouths at the same time to thrust our tongues together aggressively. My palms (embarrassingly) were sweating off the fire that consumed my entire body, but Eli didn't seem to mind when he took them in his own and placed them around his neck. I ran my fingers through his wavy hair, wanting to feel every part of him right then.

"Ahem." Eli's and my lips instantly stopped moving but remained locked. My eyes flew open to find Eli was staring back at me, wide-eyed. We slowly disentangled ourselves and turned in the direction of the interferance.

"Er...sorry to interrupt." KC said awkwardly. Eli grabbed his gun from it's resting position beneath his arm and pointed it directly at KC's chest.

"It's no problem," I assured him, even though I wished I could tape KC's mouth shut for ruining mine and Eli's moment. "We uh, heard what you were saying before. You really want to help us?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I saw what happened down the tunnel...it's horrible. I'm really sorry about your friends Eli. I should have known Fitz was-"

Eli cut him off, "It's alright man, don't beat yourself up about it. Believe me when I say I know how much that sucks. All that matters now is getting out of here safe and undetected. I'm assuming Fitz doesn't know that you ditched his little power squad?" Eli questioned.

"No, why?"

"You could distract them or...lead them astray. Tell them we went one way and we'll go another to make our escape. You can join us of course, after telling them which way to go. How does that sound?"

"Well it sounds like it would work if everyone wasn't split up already. There are like ten different tunnels in this place and every single one has someone in it. I guess I could try to round them all up and then send them in the wrong direction." he mused. Eli nodded.

"I'd say that's our best bet. You would have to signal us somehow when you get them going the wrong way so that we'd know when to run the other way. Too bad there's no cell service in this place."

I finally voiced my qualms, "Guys, not to rain on your parade or anything, but aren't you forgetting Tori, Zig, and Maya? We can't just leave them in here."

Eli turned to address me directly. "Clare, I know this may sound extremely selfish, but I need to get you out of here safely first. I can't...I won't lose you like this."

I tried my hardest not to agree with what Eli was saying, but it was hard. He was much more important to me than anyone else, myself included, and I didn't want to jeopardize his safety in any way.

"Ugh, you make it so hard for me to see reason. Some help here KC?" I asked, attemting to avoid Eli's puppy dog face.

"Um...I agree with Eli." he said against my plea for help. I gave him an exasperated look and he put his hands up in defense. "Clare look; you may not care about me anymore, and for that you have good reason. But I still care for you. I think that we should get you and Eli out first, seeing as you guys are already here and ready to go. We can come back and get the niners when we have police protection. By the way, Eli, there is cell phone reception. Did you even try your phone?"

"Yeah, I tried calling 911 and my parents. Nothing."

"Funny, it worked when Fitz sent the text to Adam..."

"Adam! Oh my god is he okay?" Eli and I exclaimed at the same time. KC laughed at our little 'jinx' moment but then nodded.

"Last time I saw him, he was trying to bust out of Fitz's room in the basement with Sav Bhandari. Who knows where that guy came from. Fitz was too captivated by your little plan to trap Tori that he didn't even notice when they tore the wall down. That's all I saw before Fitz went nuts on the little blond girl- Maya was it?- for admitting that she told Adam about Fitz's prank; not Tori. Poor girl, I don't even know why she confessed. It kind of made things worse. You guys saw the rest when he came out with the gun pressed up against her head."

"So Adam is still alive?" I asked for clarification.

"From what I saw, yes." KC said. Eli and I sighed in relief. I felt a huge weight come off of my shoulders, and I could imagine Eli, in all his guilt and self-blame, felt the same way. Adam was Eli's best friend, and it would kill Eli to know that Adam was hurt because of a prank that was aimed solely at him.

"Fitz sent him a text? How did it get through?" I asked as I pulled my own phone out of my bra. The two guys stared at me like I was from a different planet.

"What? I'm not seeing any pockets in this dress!" I defended.

Eli laughed and KC rolled his eyes. "You're so cute." Eli whispered in my ear. I grinned and wrapped my arms around his waist. He pecked my cheek sweetly. KC gawked at us.

"I'm just not going to comment. To answer your question, though, I'm thinking that texts can be sent and received as long as it's from another part of the cave. Why don't we try it out? Clare, do you still have my number?"

I nodded and looked through my contacts list for KC's name. When I found it, I asked, "Text or call?"

"Call, it's much faster."

"Amen to that. At least some people in this society get it!" Eli blurted randomly. I raised an eyebrow and laughed. "You're one of a kind, Eli Goldsworthy."

"You love it." he said and as I called KC's number I replied, "Never said I didn't."

Just then, KC's obnoxiously loud phone echoed down the tunnel.

If I was your boyfriend, I'd never let you go. I can take you places you ain't never been before. Baby, take a chance or you'll never ever know. I got money in my hands that I'd really like to blow. Swag, swag, swa-

"Oh my god KC turn that down!" I nearly yelled. First of all, how did he even know that song? Second of all, why the in the world was it my ring tone on his phone?

"Sorry." KC muttered as he frantically fumbled to answer the phone. I slid my phone shut to end the call and put it back in it's secure spot.

"Although you lost half your respect right there, man, I'm really glad it worked." Eli laughed.

"Me too. So let's do this thing. I'm going to head down this way, if you don't mind. I really can't go back and see...you know. I'll call you and let you know which way you should leave the tunnel." We nodded and KC started walking.

"Be careful!" I called to him before he walked out of sight. I turned to Eli and he smirked. "So..." he trailed off.

"So..." I repeated. We stood staring at each other for approximately two more seconds before Eli pushed me into the stone wall and attacked me hungrily with his lips. I was a little taken aback by his ferocity but soon caught up and kissed him back with just as much fervor. It was like KC hadn't even interrupted us before, we didn't miss a single beat. Eli's hands traveled up and down my waist until he suddenly gripped the backs of my thighs. I let him bring them up around his hips and wrapped them tightly around his back. He pulled his face away and before I could complain, he leaned down and started sucking on my neck. I moaned loudly, but then covered my mouth after I realized what I'd just let out. Eli's mouth stopped and he lifted his head to look at me. My face was was definitely tomato red.

"I love you Clare. There's no need to be embarrassed." he said softly.

I smiled wistfully and slid my legs back to the ground. "I love you too. But maybe we should...slow down a little. I want 'us' to last this time. Are we even official?"

"If you want us to be. I'll even tweet it when we get out of here."

"Goldsworthy sarcasm. Gotta love it at a moment like this." I grumbled. He sighed and pressed his lips to my forehead once more.

"Sorry, it's a reflex. Yes Clare, we are official. You're mine and I'm yours."

I smiled a genuine smile and stood on my tiptoes to peck his lips.

I hold on to the night you looked me in the eyes and told me you loved me. Were you just kidding 'cause it seems to me this thing is breaking down. We almost never-

I pulled my phone out and grinned when I saw KC's number flashing on the screen. I answered and set it to speaker phone so Eli could hear.

"KC? That was fast. Which way do we go?" I asked excitedly.

"Uh... go... *crash*...ow fuck!" he screeched. "Just go the way I went Clare."

"What was that?" Eli and I asked at the same time.

"N-nothing I just fell down. Skinned my knee, I'll be fine. Just hurry up and go down the way I did." he urged.

"Okay, we'll see you soon." I said and ended the call quickly. Eli and I looked at each other and both said, "Other way."

There was definitely something up. KC must have gotten caught. He was hinting heavily at the end of the call to go down the way he came. So that's what we did. We sprinted hand in hand past the bodies of Imogen, Fiona, and Declan and slowed to a saunter when we neared the entrance to the cavern. Eli pulled my body behind his as he peeked out into the cavern with his gun readily at hand. I rolled my eyes at his protectiveness, but let him do the honors nonetheless.

"They're all in there with KC. Fitz has a gun to his head." Eli whispered back to me. I gasped. "KC did the right thing. They are waiting at the other end of this tunnel. Shit we need a distraction." he muttered.

"I can-"

"No, Clare! If anyone's going to risk their life it's me. I need to end this stupid feud for once and for all." He started to walk out into the cavern but I pulled him back by the arm.

"No chance Goldsworthy."

He sighed and looked at me. "I guess this means we've stagnated."

At that point in time, there was a loud crash in the cavern that caused Eli and I to stick our heads out to see what happened.

"Put your hands where I can see them!" a husky voice bellowed. The group of teens all threw their arms above their heads and I smirked. Fitz had dropped his gun to put his hands up and KC just sat there with an unreadable expression on his face. Three men with mustaches and cop uniforms came out into the cavern with guns raised. It was like something out of a movie.

"MARK FITZGERALD GET YOUR ASS ON THE GROUND!" the largest cop demanded. Fitz looked really confused but soon his lips lifted into a wide smile.

"Oh hey Uncle Steve. I was just about to finish up in here. Why the uniform?" he asked calmly.

My heart sank. These weren't cops. Just some more freaking Fitzgeralds. Eli stood rigid at my side.

"Because I say you're done with this fucking prank, Mark. My assistants said that you threatened my daughter. Where is she?"

Everything clicked in my head. This man was Fitz's uncle, and he was talking about Tori, Fitz's cousin. I grinned and nudged Eli with my elbow. Eli looked like he wanted to run back down the tunnel but I shook my head at him. This was so going to get good.

"Um...well she's... just down the tunnel. I never threatened her, what are you talking about?" Fitz lied pathetically.

The two shorter cops went over and grabbed Fitz's arms and put them behind his back.

"What am I talking about? I'm talking about the fucking hit list you so kindly wrote on the wall in my guest room. With fucking Sharpie, might I add. Here, let's see..." the man looked down at something written on his hand, "Eli Goldsworthy, Clare Edwards, Fiona Coyne, Declan Coyne, Imogen Moreno, and COUSIN TORI plus STUPID BOYFRIEND. You hurt my baby!" he accused.

"N-no Steve. She's fine!" Fitz cried as the two cops put handcuffs around his wrists and brought him over to his uncle. I took a look at the two cops and narrowed my eyes. They looked awfully familiar... Eli suddenly gasped and ran out into the cavern before I could even process what was happening.

"Adam! Dude!" Eli yelled as he ran and gave the shortest cop a man-hug. I lit up when I heard a familiar voice say, "Hey Eli." I followed Eli's example and ran into the cave to embrace Adam. I didn't even care that Fitz was two steps away. He was handcuffed anyway.

"Hello to you too Clare. You guys missed me, admit it." Adam laughed from behind his fake mustache.

"We did!" Eli and I cried at the same time. I pulled the two guys into a group hug and blubbered my eyes out. When Adam pulled away, Eli still held me around the waist while cried into his shoulder. Adam stared at us strangely.

"Little police assistant, you can have your little reunion later. First, we need to find my Tori and then put this craziness behind us." Fitz's uncle said to Adam and he nodded. They started walking towards a random tunnel, Fitz in tow. The other cop guy, Sav Bhandari, flashed Eli and I an apologetic smile before following the others.

I laughed at the absurdity of this entire situation. I couldn't even believe all that had happened in such a short amount of time. Eli kissed the top of my head and whispered, "I know."

I looked at the group of kids who were still standing with their hands above their heads and staring at us. "What?" Eli snapped at them. Instantaneously, they all averted their shameful gazes to the ground. KC got up from his position on the ground and walked over to us.

"You alright?" I asked. He gave me a short, unconvincing nod. I smiled to let him know I knew what he was feeling. "Let's get out of here then."

An epilogue of sorts will be coming soon. It will explain all the little loose ends and what happens next with our beloved Degrassi characters. Thank you all for reading (and double thanks to those who reviewed)! It truly means alot to me.

Songs used in this chapter: Boyfriend by Justin Bieber, Forever And Always by Taylor Swift (Neither are owned by me)

Song that inspired this story: Lead Me Out Of The Dark by Crown The Empire (I do not own this song either)

-Lindsey