This one is entirely in Sean's pov

The Soldier

"Thank you for coming to talk to the class Sean," Mr. Perino says shaking my hand when I've finished my speech.

"No problem Sir thanks for having me," I smile as the bell rings.

Most of the kids walk right out of class but one very obnoxious girl, in this grade ten class I was speaking to, stands next to me and watches me gather my stuff, or she's admiring my uniform.

"You were really great, I just love the way you talk," she says in a chirpingly annoying voice that grates at my nerves and reminds me of Manny.

"Uh thanks," I reply trying to be polite.

"I'm Zoe Rivas, you might have heard of me I was on West Drive." She tells me like this makes her the most important person ever.

"Nope, never heard of you or the show," I reply with a callus tone.

This little girl is getting on my nerves, it's obvious she has a crush on me which I guess is cute and flattering but she's way too young for me. She's also incredibly annoying and thinks she's special because she was on a show which means she has an ego. Despite my rude tone and disinterested answer she still follows me from the room and down the hall like the sick puppy that she is.

"I can't believe you went here, I bet this school was much better when you went here. So how long have you been in the army?" She questions.

Not only do I not have an interest in answering her question but something else has caught my eye or rather a voice has caught my ear. A girl is on a ladder near one wall, on a ladder near the opposite wall is a boy; they are hanging a banner for an upcoming dance. The girl is petite and I can only see her from the back, she has shoulder length cinnamon curls that seem vaguely familiar but it's her voice that I'm certain I've heard before, I just can't place it. I stop and watch her for a minute trying to place her, she must be a senior but I left before she would have been a Freshman, and everyone I knew is gone, aren't they? That Zoe girl is still talking, the more I watch this other girl the louder she gets like the sheer volume of her voice is going to make me look over at her.

"Drew you have to go lower, my arms don't go that high," says the girl on the ladder to the other boy.

"That was lower," the boy argues.

"No it's…" she begins to say leaning to the left, away from the wall.

She leans too far, loses her balance and starts to fall! She lets go of the banner, as does the boy as he watches her fall but he can't reach her fast enough. I can though, I run forward and catch her, she falls right into my arms, her arms go around my neck as she gasps from the shock of the fall or the surprise of being caught. She blinks and my eyes lock onto hers, her lucid, bright, crystal blue eyes are instantly recognizable and I know her now, she's Darcy's little sister but she has grown up a lot. She's a gorgeous woman now not the gawky little kid that I remember.

"Nice catch dude," the boy grins coming down the ladder.

"How rude! I was talking!" Zoe snaps but we all ignore her.

"I know you," says baby Edwards, I can't remember her first name.

"Sean Cameron," I reply and she smiles when she remembers me.

"Of course Jay's friend, you dated Emma for a long time. I'm Darcy's sister Clare," she tells me and all I can focus on are her captivating eyes and beautiful smile.

"Yeah I remember you," I smile a little wider.

I guess that Zoe girl gives up because she screams and stomps off like she's diva of the school; frankly I'm just glad she's gone.

"Uh you think I can have my veep back so we can hang this banner?" Asks the boy.

He's standing close, his tone and posture are protective but not intimidating. He must be a friend, he's protective but not jealous and I just now realize I'm still holding Clare in my arms.

"What's a veep?" I question setting Clare back on the ground.

"Vice President, he just likes to call it veep," Clare explains slowly and somewhat hesitantly taking her arms from my neck. "Sean Cameron this is our student council President Drew Torres."

"Nice to meet you," I say extending my hand to the boy.

He looks me over, glances at Clare and then takes my hand shaking it firmly. "You too," Drew says finally grinning.

"Why don't I help you hang the banner?" I offer and Drew shrugs.

We pick up the banner and each walk up a ladder, it takes a few minutes but we hang the banner and Clare makes sure that it's straight. After hanging the banner I help Drew put away the ladders and Clare follows us, I also notice the Zoe girl lingering along a wall.

"Thanks for the help," Drew says to me.

"No problem," I smile at him and then look at Clare. "Seeing as it's your lunch time do you want to go to the Dot?"

She smiles and bites her lower lip which I find utterly sexy. "Yeah that sounds nice, see you in class Drew." Clare tells him.

"Uh yeah," Drew says with a knowing grin and kind of laughing. "I'll uh I'll go find Adam and Dallas."

With that Drew walks off and I offer Clare my arm, she bites her lip again, her mouth curling into a smile. She links her arm through mine and we start walking down the street to the Dot. We're about half way there when I realize Zoe is following us but we both ignore her.

"You know you look amazing now, nothing like the girl I remember, except of course for those amazing blue eyes of yours." I tell Clare and she blushes.

"Thanks but it's been several years since you've seen me I grew up." She replies.

"Yeah you did," I grin and she giggles.

Several people look at us when we enter the Dot, I don't recognize any of the people in there, this place sure has changed. Clare doesn't seem to notice the people looking at us or doesn't care, we order, I pay and then we sit down. Zoe sits down at a table near us, sipping at an iced coffee, she glares at Clare and tries to give me a flirty smile but I ignore her. For the next half an hour Clare catches me up quickly with the last several years and her relationships, the Eli sounds like someone I should have a long talk with and then beat him senseless for cheating on her but at least she isn't with him anymore. I'd like to have more time but she has to get back to school so we start walking back, with Zoe following us closely.

"I'd love to catch up some more but I'm getting deployed again tomorrow and I have to drive to Ottawa tonight." I tell Clare when we're back at the front steps of DeGrassi.

"Give me your e-mail I can at least e-mail you while you're over there." She tells me pulling out her phone.

I smile, take the phone and start typing in my e-mail. I notice people starting to gather around the picnic tables and steps, including Zoe and Drew who is with three other boys and a vey skinny girl. When I'm done I hand Clare back her phone, she smiles, bites her lip and slips her phone into her purse. Then she grabs my jacket, pulls me to her and crashes her lips to mine. Her soft warm lips make me melt, my eyes close, my arms go around her back and I lift her up a little. Her lips part for me when my tongue slides across her bottom lip. My tongue dominates hers and she deepens the kiss, sliding her arms up and around my neck. Time seems to disappear, my lips get hotter and her scent fills me, I can her people whispering and whistling, some are even clapping but they all sound very far away. When the bell rings for classes Clare pulls away, her teeth tugging softly on my bottom lip as she pulls away. I set her down and she's smiling, we don't say another word, she turns and walks to Drew and the other's, he's laughing, two of them looked shocked and the shorter one with brown hair and freckles gives her a quizzical look like he wants to know who I am. She blows me another kiss and walks inside with them, I turn to go to my car and see that Zoe looks flabbergasted and insulted. I laugh and start walking to my car when my phone rings, it's Jay so I answer.

"Hey Jay you'll never guess who I ran into."