Okay. So my heart totally broke watching Degrassi tonight. I'm surprised i could even write this. Guess that means the block is OVER! yay!

Also. I'm super mad at Alli for putting the idea in Clare's head that Eli's manipulatin her. I mean the boy needs more therapy, but he isn't manipulating her. Anyways. Here's Chapter 10! I think you'll like it. ;)

Alli looked like she was going to pass out. I guess that means that I'm answering the door. I smooth out my outfit and open the door. All I saw was a giant bouquet of flowers.

Go, Drew! Drew found a way to poke his head around the flowers and smiled.

"Hey, Clare. Is Alli ready?" He looked so excited. How cute!

"She's just checking her makeup. For the fifth time." I laughed and stepped aside so they could come in. Eli looked me up and down and grinned. I couldn't help but do the same.

He was dressed simply – a black button down, rolled to the elbows, gray skinnies and of course he had on his signature silver pick necklace – but he pulled it off beautifully.

Alli stepped out of the bathroom and saw the flowers and a huge smile spread across her face. She ran to Drew and hugged him. He put the flowers down to hold onto her better and they probably hugged for two solid minutes. It was kind of awkward.

The Eli cleared his throat and the two pulled apart.

"Sorry. Clare, can you take care of the flowers for me? Pretty please?" She pouted.

"No problem Alls. You two go have fun!" I winked and she smiled and they left. I looked for something big enough to hold all of the flowers. Eventually I settled on a plastic pitcher. It wasn't pretty, but there were too many flowers for anything else. Alli would live with it.

"So, what are we doing tonight?" He asked me after I set up the flowers.

"I don't know. Definitely dinner. I'm starving."

"Hm. Okay. The Dot sound good?"

"Sounds great!" We smiled at each other and I got butterflies in my stomach. We looked away and started walking to The Dot, talking about everything. It always felt so natural with him, like I didn't have to live up to any expectations.

"So what are you having? It's on me."

"Oh, no. Eli you don't have to do that!"

"Clare, it's fine. I want to." He wants to pay. For me. The girl he's having dinner with. Alone. So if it walks like a date, and talks like a date, then it's a date. Right? But what about Tia?

"Okay then, I'll have a salad, with the balsamic, and a banana milkshake."

"And I'll have a Dot Burger and a Coke." The waiter nodded and walked away.

"A salad and a milkshake? Don't they kind of contradict each other?" He teased.

"Possibly. But if I eat the salad, I won't feel guilty about the milkshake. The Freshman Fifteen is no joke, Goldsworthy."

"You're perfect, Clare. You don't need to worry about that." He looked me in the eye. It felt like he was staring in my soul. I just stared back and resisted the urge to mount him, then and there. He has a girlfriend, Clare. A very scary girlfriend. Knock it off!

"So, how's Tia?" His face seemed to drop at the sound of her name.

"I wouldn't know. I haven't talked to her since she showed up at movie night. She was saying goodbye before she went home for the weekend. But to be honest. I don't actually care how she is. I don't mean that in a jerky way, but I only said yes because I didn't want it to get awkward between the two of us. I figured if I didn't plan a special date she'd lose interest and back off. No such luck. Now she's being all clingy and I have to figure out how to break up with her without pissing her off big time."

"Maybe you should just talk to her. Maybe underneath the bright colors, and underneath the scary attitude, she's an understanding person." HA!

"Yeah, maybe." He shrugged and our food came. We ate and talked a little and decided to just head back to my dorm because a really big storm was brewing and we didn't want to get caught in it.

"Ah, home sweet home!" I smiled and plopped down on my bed. I laid on it sideways and Eli laid next to me.

"So, what now, Edwards?" He said as he leaned up on his elbow and faced me.

"Hmm. How about…You tell me?" I smirked.

"Hmmm. How about…No?" He smirked back and winked. We kept play fighting until he was on top of me, tickling my sides, trying to force me to pick.

"No! No! You have to..pick! HA! Eliiiii! Stop! Stooooop!" I said between giggles. Finally he stopped when I sat up and he sat on the bed next to me, staring me in the eyes. I saw him lean in and I could feel myself do the same. He looked from my eyes to my lips and back again. Soon I could feel his breath on my face. It was intoxicating. But then I remembered. Tia. I turned my head at the last second and he kissed my cheek.

"Eli, as much as I want to kiss you, we can't. You have a girlfriend. I won't be that girl." I turned back to look at him and he cupped my cheek in his hand. He sighed and rested his forehead against mine.

"And you don't deserve to me. I'm going to do it. Tonight. I promise." I nodded and sighed. It was all I could do to stop myself from just saying screw it and making out with him. "I-I should go…" I nodded in agreement. He kissed me on the cheek and I walked him to the door. He pulled me into a hug and instantly it felt right.

"So, you want to kiss me, huh?" I could feel him smirking into my hair. I pulled back and punched him in the arm.

"Just kidding, Blue Eyes. I want to kiss you too." He smiled and I smiled back. "Goodnight, Clare." He kissed me on the forehead and walked out the door.

I let out a huge sigh. That was unbelievably hard. Suddenly I wanted to cry. I missed being in his arms more than I thought was possible. Then I saw his jacket on the floor. I figured it wouldn't hurt to just stop by and return it to him. I picked it up and walked to his dorm. Once again the door was cracked. He has got to learn to shut his door.

I was about to push the door open when I heard what sounded like the phone ringing on speaker.

"Hello?" Ugh. It's her.

"Tia. Hey. It's Eli. Listen. We need to talk." Oh, God. He's doing it already? That boy does not waste time.

"Okay…what's up?" She sounded nervous.

"Okay. So, I like you a lot…as a friend. I don't think this thing is going to work out with us. And I'm really sorry. But I really do hope we can stay friends." He sounded so cute when he was nervous.

"It's Clare isn't it?" He sighed.

"How'd you know?"

"You aren't one for subtlety, Eli. It's okay. I knew it was coming. Tell Clare I'm sorry for being mean to her all week. I'm a bitch when I get jealous." She laughed. He laughed too and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks so much Tia. I've got to go. I'll see you in class Monday."

"Bye, Eli." She said, and they hung up.

I then pushed the door open and stared at Eli and smiled. He turned around to see me and jumped, then blushed.

"Hey. How much of that did you hear?" He seemed nervous.

"All of it." I smiled bigger and ran to him, hugging him. He hugged back, tight. "You're amazing, Eli."

"It's all for you, Clare." I pulled away and looked into his eyes. I could tell he was being honest. I felt myself put my hand behind his neck, get up on my tippy toes, and before I knew it, my lips were on his.

YAY! I can't believe i actually wrote this. I'm kinda proud. Anyways. I'm gonna be mean. And say i want to be up to 25 reviews before i post again. I think i'm gonna start on the next part now, so whenever you guys reach 25 i'll be ready to post!

So get to reviewing! And get your friends to R&R so i can post faster!