Author's Note: Sorry that this is my first update today D: I've been busy. And tomorrow I'll be even busier, I have a doctors appointment. I have to get a shot D: then I'm getting highlights then I'm going to order a birthday cake. My birthday is on august 30th :D I'm pumped. You know what I'm even more pumped for? TOMORROW'S DEGRASSI EPISODE. LIKE OMGGGG I CANT WAIT TO SEE ECLARE HAPPEN. I'm sad that he's 'leading her on' BUT I STILL LOVE HIM AND HE'S JUST SO ADORABLE. So, let's get to the story. Go read my other new story, "Not My Type". :D

Eli's POV

I walked in on my mom getting, well. Busy. With a new guy. This is like the 5th this week. I don't understand her. Well actually, I do. She's a prostitute.

And it's her job to be a whore. I hate it so much, it disgusts me. When she lost her old job, she became an 'escort'. She said it would just be for a few months until she got back on track.

That was 3 years ago. She also said that she was only doing it so she could support me. Now she doesn't even care if I come home.

I expected her to be a better mother than this, but like I said, I have no expectations anymore. The grossest part is that my dad doesn't even care. He's never home though, so it doesn't matter. My mom's a slut and I see my dad like once a week. I fend for myself; I have to face it, I'm a loner.

The only family I have are my parents. And they taught me that people suck. And everyone in my life will eventually leave or hate me. It was true though, all of my 'friends' left me. Sometimes, when my mom got drunk or her 'customers' forgot to pay her, she'd tell me how worthless I am.

She never hit me, but the verbal abuse was enough suffering. Every word was like a dagger to my eyes. If I was lucky, my mom didn't talk to me at all.

The only good thing about her 'job' was that it surprisingly brought in a lot of cash. I don't even know if my dad has a job. How sad is that?

My mom forgot to pay the bills though. I had to be the responsible one and do it for her. She always left out money for me though which was a good thing.

I guess she thought if she gave me money then everything would be okay. But it wasn't. I'm emotionally scarred for life and no one will be able to fix it. I'd like to think that if the right person came into my life, I'd be better. I doubt it though.

The only person that I even considered that would be able to do this was Clare. When am I going to ask her on a date? Should I do it tomorrow?

Maybe. If I feel like I can. If my mom doesn't make me feel like shit tonight, then I might have the courage to.

"Eli, what are you doing home?"

"School finished, mom."

"Oh, well I'm working, could you come back in like an hour?" She had this annoyed tone in her voice.

"No, I have nowhere to go. I'll stay in my room though." It's not like I was gonna watch her. That's nasty.

I thought about asking when my dad would be home but that would be useless. She doesn't know and doesn't care, so what's the point?

Clare's POV

I still want to know what's got Alli all pumped up. I texted her to find out.

Clare: Dot in a little?

Alli: sure, Clare Bear! In 10 mins meet u there.

Alli sucks at keeping secrets. She's a wonderful friend, but it's true. I mean, if I told her a really big secret, she'd be able to keep it. But she couldn't keep high school drama to herself. And obviously this had some sort of drama behind it.

"Mom, I'm going to meet Alli at the Dot. Be back later!"

"Okay honey!"

I grabbed a jacket and set out for the Dot. I was going to get this out of Alli; I had to. I absolutely can't stand not knowing things which could explain why I like studying so much.

"Alli, hey!"

"Clare, so, what do I owe this meeting to?" I had to get her to order something and sit down before I dropped the bomb. Or else she'd leave.

"What, I can't hang out with my best friend? Besides, I have girl talk for you. About Eli."

"OOOOOH SPILL!"

"First, let's get some food. I'm hungry!" We both ordered salads. Now that our food was on the way, I could talk to her.

"I lied, I have no news about Eli. But I know that you have a little secret. And I bet that you're dying to tell me."

"Clare! How can a saint be this evil? Jeez. I was expecting juicy news…."

"What kind of news?"

"Oh nothing."

"So, are you going to tell me what your secret is?"

"Nope."

"Come on, Alli. You know you want to."

"I definitely don't want to tell you about Eli's feelings for you. OOPS. CRAP. OH MY GOD, PRETEND I DIDN'T SAY THAT."

HA! I knew she wouldn't be able to keep it a secret. But Eli's feelings for me? Was she serious? Could he actually like me? I really like him. So much. He's just so different!

"What do you mean by feelings?"

"I didn't mean anything!"

"Yes you did!"

"CLARE HE LOOOOVES YOU!" She was lying! That was impossible. The mysterious Eli Goldsworthy liking me? Yeah, I don't think so. I'm a nerd. A loser. A weirdo. And a plain girl. Nothing interesting about Clare Edwards.

"Stop lying, and tell me the truth."

"Clare, I swear that's it. He's going to ask you out."

"Well why did you ruin the surprise then!"

Alli's POV

She couldn't be serious. She basically begged me to tell her. She knows that if she talks enough that she can get me to tell any secret. So she forces me to tell her, then gets mad that I ruined the surprise! What's wrong with this girl!

"CLARE! YOU MADE ME TELL YOU. And you can't let Eli know that I told you. Cause then he'll chicken out."

"I won't tell. Does he really like me?" Her grin was huge. She was talking in a really high pitched excited voice.

"Yes Clare! He can't keep his eyes off of you."

"Oh my God, Alli, I can't wait!"

Author's Note: Leave it to Alli to ruin such a beautiful surprise. Oh well. How did you like the story of Eli's home life? First I was gonna just make his mom a slut, then I was like hm, why not make that her job? I hope you guys don't like hate the idea though. Tell me you're thoughts on the chapter and tell me if you have any ideas! I love you guuuys, keep reading :D xoxoxoxstefffff.