I'll Cover You

Author's Note: I don't own Degrassi nor any other literary or pop culture references.

Chapter 10

Crumbling

Eli drove home with worry on the brain. What was Fitz doing near Clare's house, and what was the "funny story" that he was about to tell? When did he get out of juvie or wherever the hell it was he was sent post-Vegas night? Would he be allowed back at Degrassi?

As much as he tried to calm himself, he only felt his anxiety strengthen over the next few hours as he tried to focus on his homework. After getting frustrated enough to type utter gibberish on his keyboard, he gave in and called Clare. As he stared out his window at the falling rain, she answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Eli greeted.

"Hey, have you finished your paper on 'Death of a Salesman'?" she asked immediately.

"Not exactly, I just needed to get away from it for a minute or two," he admitted.

"Me too, all the letters on the screen were starting to jumble together," she laughed.

"Yeah, and all this rain isn't helping either. I just wanna go to sleep," he complained.

Faintly, Eli heard the doorbell ring from the other end of the phone.

"Was that your doorbell?" he inquired.

"Er… yeah, Mom must've forgotten something. She just left for a church committee meeting," Clare explained, as Eli heard her feet on the stairs.

"So you're home alone, and you didn't invite me over?" Eli teased.

"We have papers due. You know that!" she giggled.

Eli could hear the doorbell again and the sound of Clare unlocking and opening the door, followed by a sharp gasp.

"Clare? What's going on? Who's at the door?" Eli demanded, panic settling into his chest.

"It's… it's just my mom. She needs me to help her with something. I… I have to go."

"Clare!" Eli shouted into the phone, only to find the call had already ended.

Swiftly, he scrolled down to her number again. It never even rang, going straight to voicemail.

"Shit," Eli cursed to himself.

After looking from his disaster of a paper-in-progress to the pouring rain outside, Eli grabbed a jacket from his desk chair and set off downstairs to the hearse. Unfortunately, Morty chose that particular moment to refuse to start. Twice more, he tried. His dark hair dripping rainwater onto his shoulders, Eli let out a string of curses.

Once more, he pulled out his cell phone, redialing to Clare.

"Hello?" she answered. Her voice sounded shaky.

"Clare, what the hell? Are you okay?" Eli demanded.

"Yeah, sorry. My mom… she just needed help getting something into the car that she needed for her meeting. I… I couldn't talk and help her at the same time," she explained.

"So she's left for church again?" Eli further inquired.

"Yeah, she… she left just a second ago. Eli, everything's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Look, I need to get back to… my paper. I'll call you before I go to bed, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Bye," and with that she hung up.

Something was not right with this situation. Eli couldn't help but hear the hesitation in her voice, the lack of confidence in her answers. Channeling his nervous energy, he managed to finish his paper before retiring to his bed. He tossed and turned for what felt like hours, but when he looked at his phone, it was barely past ten o'clock. A few short minutes later, Clare called him back.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey, it's me. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I was just catching up on some reading," he lied.

"Oh ok, well, I guess I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Okay, but Clare?"

"Yeah?"

"You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?" he asked timidly.

"Eli, nothing's wrong."

"But you'd tell me if something was?"

"Of course."

"Alright, sweet dreams, Clare."

"Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied, feeling only slightly better.

Closing his phone, Eli plugged it into the charger, before rolling back over and trying yet again to fall asleep. He continued to toss and turn, until finally in the early hours of the morning he managed to lose consciousness.

Eli awoke with a start, sunlight shining underneath the blinds of his window, snaking between piles of his belongings. Glancing at the clock, he realized he was running late, so he threw on some clothes before grabbing his bag and bolting down the stairs. Rather than fool with the hearse again, he grabbed his bike, taking off down the street.

His pulse racing, he practically slammed into the bike rack, before taking off in a sprint to the school building. What he saw next practically made his heart fall out of his chest.

Clare. His Clare was walking hand in hand with Fitz down the crowded hallway. What the hell was going on here? Before he could even register his anger, he saw Adam stroll up to them, shaking hands with Fitz before jetting off to class.

As he remained frozen mid-step, Clare and Fitz passed right in front of him. Without even glancing at him, Clare stood on her tip-toes, pressing her lips to Fitz's cheek. He caught her chin in his hand, pulling her face back to kiss her full on. Fitz took a step forward, pressing her against the lockers, his other hand pulling her to him by the small of her back.

Eli suddenly found feeling in his limbs again as he strode towards them before reaching out to pull Fitz off his girlfriend. Much to his astonishment, he found that he couldn't touch them. He tried reaching out to Clare, but it was as if they were inside some kind of bubble and he wasn't allowed inside.

With a growl of frustration, he resorted to screaming at them.

"Clare! What the hell? Why are you doing this?"

"Get off her!"

"What the hell happened?"

"You said you loved me!"

With that last statement, Eli awoke, sitting up straight in his bed with a gasp. He looked around, registering that he was still in bed, and it was just a dream, but he could feel the cold sweat beading on his forehead as he tried to erase the dream from his memory, but the sight of them together wouldn't leave the back of his mind.

Eli glanced at his phone, noting the time before falling back on his pillows. As he told himself it was just a dream, just a nightmare, he felt a familiar anxiety creep into his chest. He glanced beside the bed, seeing yet another cardboard box full of useless items. In what felt like a trance, Eli got out of bed, emptying the contents of the box and replacing them in their rightful spaces. Only then did the tightness in his chest lessen. Only then did he feel in control.