You should read this QUICK Author's Note: There is a time lapse here, but I won't tell you how long, you can decide for yourselves, depending on how much progress in their relationship you personally think Eli and Clare should have, because after this there will be hardly any time lapses at all.
Clare was holding on to Eli's hand for dear life. "You don't have to do it, you know," she tried to tell him.
"Clare, I do. It's not that big of a deal, I'll be right back I promise," Eli assured her, and slowly removed his hand from her vice grip and got out of the car and walked over to the gas pump, putting his credit card in the little slot. But he wasn't out by himself for long, because Clare jumped out of the car and ran over into his arms, burying her face in his chest.
"It's going to be okay," Eli comforted, stroking Clare's hair and simultaneously putting the pump in his car. "I'm right here. Nothing bad is going to happen. Shhh…" And Clare just shook her head and tried to get closer to Eli, engulfing herself in his distinct scent. Ever since the K.C. incident, one of her greatest irrational fears was gas stations. She was so paranoid that K.C. would just randomly show up and kill her. Or worse, kill Eli and leave her grieving and feeling guilty for the rest of her life.
Clare let herself embrace Eli until Morty's gas tank was full, and reluctantly let go of him to climb back into the hearse.
Eli got in and took Clare's hand in his. "You see? Everything turned out okay. We're all alive and fine," Eli cooed, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles, trying to calm her down. "Now we can make it to my parents' house without Morty stopping in the middle of the road." Clare gave a weak smile in return, and Eli pulled her hand to make her scoot closer to him, tugging her into his chest and kissing her hair. "I love you, you know."
"I know," Clare sighed, leaning up to peck Eli on his jaw. "I love you too. Thanks for putting up with me."
"Anytime," Eli responded while putting Morty in drive. "Now let's get out of here."
"Will do."
As Eli pulled up to his parents' house, Clare's nerves came back out to mess with her again. "They're not going to like me," she concluded automatically.
"Are you fucking crazy?" Eli asked incredulously. "They're going to adore you. I promise. And if they don't then I guess I'll just have to hand them over to an old folk's home earlier than I expected. No big deal."
"I'm sure they'd love that immensely," Clare laughed, and slowly made her way out of the hearse, in no rush to meet Eli's parents. He had hardly told her about them, and she was anxious about meeting them. She could feel her palms start to sweat a little bit with each step she took to the door. But she felt Eli catch up to her side and his presence alone helped her calm down as she interlaced her fingers with his, not caring about her sweaty hand. They walked up to the door and just as Eli was reaching out to knock, the door was swung open with un-human force.
"Elijah! What a surprise seeing you here! And with such a pretty girl, too!" exclaimed a petite blond woman at the door. "She's not insane, is she?"
"No, Cece. As far as I can tell, Clare is 100% mentally stable," Eli groaned, rolling his eyes.
"Then why is she going out with you?" Cece asked with a wink, making Eli roll his eyes for the second time.
"Um," mumbled Clare, who was waiting for a chance to introduce herself. "Hi, Mrs. Goldsworthy. I'm Clare," she said, holding out her hand, but being ambushed with a hug not unlike the one Fiona had given to her.
"Clare, honey, please call me Cece. If my own son can call me by my first name, you are certainly welcome to," Cece assured, and Clare nodded her head, still feeling a little bit on edge. "Well come on in!" Cece continued. "We usually keep Eli locked up in the back, but we can make an exception for company," she joked with a wink, making Clare laugh and Eli roll his eyes (yet again).
Clare and Eli made their way into his childhood home, and Clare automatically saw where Eli got his unconventional behavior. The walls were not only full of family pictures, but posters of some of her favorite bands were plastered everywhere, and Clare could tell she would be quite comfortable with Eli's parents.
"Sit, sit," Cece insisted, and continued once Clare sat down on the couch next to Eli. "So, Clare, Eli says that you're into music?"
"Yeah," Clare responded. "I work at this record store, The Deep Pit. And-"
"Oh you work there?" asked a big burly man, coming out of the kitchen. "I love that place! You know that chick with the fucking crazy hair? She's hilarious! And she loves my radio show so she lets me have a bunch of free shit, too."
"Oh yeah, Crystal. She's the best," Clare agreed.
"I'm Bullfrog," he said, and captured Clare in yet another hug, which at that point she had finally gotten used to.
"I'm Clare," she said, still muffled in Bullfrog's chest.
"I know!" Bullfrog rejoiced. "Eli has told us so much about you! Lovely, lovely Clarabelle."
"Dad. Shut up, please," Eli sighed, already overly exasperated by his parents.
"C'mon, son! We're just trying to make little Clare here feel welcome."
"Yeah, what's wrong with trying to welcome our future daughter-in-law to the family?" Cece agreed, making Clare blush a furious red.
"Shit, mom! Can you please just calm down and let Clare breath a little? She has hardly said two words and you two are jumping her like vultures."
"Okay, we'll back off," conceded Cece. "Sorry Clare. Our enthusiasm can be so intimidating sometimes."
"No, it's totally okay," Clare insisted, glad that his parents were overly enthusiastic about her rather than excessively judgmental.
"I knew from the second I saw her that I'd like this girl!" Cece said, pulling Clare into another side hug.
"Thanks," Clare said with a nervous laugh. "You guys are pretty cool, too. I love the posters everywhere."
"They're pretty bitchin'" Bullfrog concurred. "They all tell a specific story. Like this one," he said, walking over to a Clash poster. "I got this when Cec and I went to see The Clash at Shea Stadium. Best night of my fucking life," Bullfrog said proudly, until he noticed his wife staring daggers at him. "I mean, the second best day of my life. After I married Cece." Cece shook her head. Bullfrog was close, but not close enough. "Third!" he cried, after he figured it out. "Third! After the day of my wedding and the birth of my son." Cece finally smiled at her husband, as he had finally figured it out.
"Good boy, Bullfrog. You figured it out, almost all on your own!" Cece teased, giving him a peck on the lips.
"It's a good thing you didn't marry me for my brains," Bullfrog joked back, a large smile on his face, pulling Cece in for a hug. It was almost like they'd forgotten that their son was there with his girlfriend, and Clare was marveling at their love. Her parents were never like that. Her mom was always drunk off of her ass every night, and her dad was always afraid that if he left her she would spiral even more out of control. But Clare could tell every day that her father was miserable, and she pitied him more than anything. But seeing a marriage this happy was a new experience for Clare altogether, and she was mesmerized and perplexed at the same time as to how they could stay together and love each other so much for so long.
Cece and Bullfrog seemed to snap back into reality. "So, we ordered dinner and it actually came right before you two got here. I hope it's okay with you, Clare that we got Indonesian. Grilled tempeh is Eli's favorite," Cece explained.
"Sure… Cece. That sounds great."
"Great," said Bullfrog, clapping his hands together and rubbing them together as he made his way to the dining room. "Let's all dig in."
Eli and Clare hung back for a second, as Cece and Bullfrog were already in the kitchen, getting out all of the plates and glasses.
"I think… they like me?" Clare stated unsurely.
"I'm pretty sure they love you," Eli laughed at Clare's uncertainty. "And how could they not?" he said, wrapping her up in a hug.
"I've been getting a lot of hugs lately, haven't I?" Clare quipped.
"I know!" Eli agreed. "I should be the only one that gets to hug you like that!" Clare laughed and pulled herself from Eli to go into the kitchen, but she stopped short when she felt his hand in the back pocket of her jeans. She turned around and gave him a death stare.
"What?" Eli asked innocently, pretending that he was doing nothing wrong.
"I usually wouldn't have any complaints, but your parents are right in the other room, and I don't want them to think anything," Clare uttered menacingly, while pulling Eli's hand out of her back pocket.
Eli sighed dejectedly. "Fine. God, I just can't say 'no' to you, can I?"
"No, you can't," Clare smiled, pecking him on his lips. "Now lets go eat dinner with your folks, okay?"
They had all been talking non-stop throughout the dinner. Bullfrog would go on and on about stories from his rock and roll "glory days" while Clare listened excitedly. Then Eli and Cece would talk about painting and argue about Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism until Bullfrog asked them both to "shut the fuck up before you bore Clare and me to death," he so eloquently put it.
After they finished, Clare complimented Cece on the meal, even if she didn't make it.
"Only the best for our son's girlfriend," Cece said cheerfully.
"Yeah, that's why we ordered out," Bullfrog teased, earning himself a smack on the back on the head from his wife. "Ouch!" he cried, rubbing the back of his head. "Did I really deserve that?"
"You had it coming, Bullfrog," El said, laughing at his dad's misfortune.
"Cece, do you need help with the dishes or anything?" Clare suggested, but Cece denied her offer.
"Bullfrog and I have it covered, sweetie. You've been a joy today, you don't have to do the dishes. You can go and see Eli's room, instead."
"Okay. Just let me know if you need me to help with anything," Clare said, trying to be polite. Even if they were quirky, Clare still felt that she ought to have good manners around them.
"We'll let you know," Cece said with a smug smile.
Her and Eli scurried up to his room, and he closed and locked the door behind them. Clare turned around to see a fairly neat room* with music posters covering the walls, and a large poster of a Jackson Pollock painting above his bed.
"Impressive," said Clare, referring to the Pollock.
"Thanks. It's been there since I was in 9th grade probably. He's always been one of my favorite painters."
"Yeah he's pretty great," Clare agreed, sitting down on his bed.
"You want to watch a movie or something?"
"Sure, why not? What harm would a movie do?"
Clare was balled up on the couch, hiding her face in her knees in fear while Eli was leaning forward, totally engrossed in the movie.
"Clare, you're missing out on the whole movie," Eli said, shaking her until she raised her head little by little from her knees.
"I hate this movie," Clare complained. "Why do people find getting the shit scared out of them entertaining? I will never comprehend that at all."
"Because it's awesome," Eli simply stated. "You don't have to get it. Just watching it with me is enough."
Clare sighed. "It's still freaky." Eli laughed and pulled her into his lap, giving her a kiss and then turning his attention back to the movie. Clare just laid her head on Eli's shoulder and tried to focus on his heartbeat. She would whimper every time she heard someone scream, but decided it was best to not look at what was going on on the screen. Eli noticed her discomfort and started to soothingly rub her back, at the same time subtly pushing her shirt up farther and farther up.
Clare noticed his actions, and lifted her head from Eli's shoulder. "Oh I see how it is now. Get me scared so you can take advantage of me. Smooth move, Goldsworthy. Smooth move indeed."
"The smoothest," Eli said, and she could see from his darkened eyes that his mood had shifted significantly.
Eli lifted Clare's shirt from her body, keeping eye contact with her the entire time, and Clare took Eli's shirt off after he was done. At first, the two just stared at each other, neither making a move. But after a minute or two, Eli broke and crashed his lips onto Clare's, and she moved to straddle him as he fell back on his back on the bed. Their hands moved hurriedly over one another's bodies as teeth clashed and groans escaped their mouths.
Clare started kissing Eli's neck, planting small pecks down until she reached his Adam's apple, where she started sucking, much to his surprise. Eli let out a throaty moan, encouraging Clare even more. As she kept sucking on his Adam's apple, Clare moved her hand down Eli's chest until she reached his pants, which she hastily unbuckled and practically shoved her hand inside. Eli let out a louder groan as Clare squeezed and started stroking his already hard member. Through the hazy fog of his approaching orgasm, Eli was able to undo Clare's pants as well and he started massaging her clit, making Clare also whimper and squirm on top of him. He inserted a finger in her pussy, and started pumping in and out, but it was awkward to do so when her pants were still on, so he just pushed them farther down her legs until he could easily reach her dripping center.
"E-Eli," Clare mewled. "God! Your fingers feel… so good."
"I could say… the s-same for you," Eli said, struggling to get his words out.
Suddenly, Clare stopped, making Eli huff in frustration. But she pulled his pants and boxers off all the way, helping him kick them off, and slithered her way up his body to his throbbing cock.
"Clare, what are you – oh. Oh! Oh my fucking god." Eli blurted, as she took his penis into her mouth, sucking hard. Clare looked up at Eli sensually, and started humming one of her songs, bobbing her head in rhythm with it. He could feel himself reaching his peak, and he came hard after Clare gave one long hard suck.
Clare swallowed Eli's cum and leaned up. "You're a lot bigger than K.C. was," she said with a devious smirk, but Eli quickly wiped it off her face when he rolled to straddle her, switching places. He did exactly what she had done just a few minutes earlier, completely taking off her pants. Eli kissed up her thighs until he reached her now drenched center. He started licking away at her juices, then switched to tonguing her clit aggressively.
"Fuck!" Clare exclaimed, grasping for the sheets as she closed in on an extremely intense orgasm. She could feel her whole body shake as Eli pushed his tongue inside her, wiggling it around, taking it out, and repeating, adding his thumb to circle around her clit.
"Oh my GOD!" Clare screamed as she reached orgasm, her vision blacking out as she rode it out, with Eli's tongue lapping up her spilling juices.
Eli smirked at Clare. "How was that?" he asked smugly.
"Amazing," Clare said simply, not being able to snap back at him.
"You kids okay in there?" Bullfrog asked, tapping on the door. "It sounds like someone's dying or something," he joked, and Clare could literally feel her face turning a deep shade of red.
"Fuck off, Bullfrog," Eli said, and snuggled up to Clare. And she could've sworn she heard Bullfrog say, "Fucking kids these days. No respect," outside the door as he walked away.
It seemed like it had been years since Clare had modeled for Eli, but it had only been a couple days. She was lying down on Eli's couch as he painted her with watercolors, as opposed to the usual acrylic paints that he preferred. They sat in silence for a long while, just enjoying the simplicity of the evening.
Once he was finished, Clare got up and stretched her back. "And I thought lying down would be less annoying," she joked. "Is my back supposed to hurt this much for someone my age?" she asked, making Eli laugh.
"Just get over here. I want you to see this one," Eli urged, and Clare sauntered her way over to the easel.
"Holy shit," Clare said, surprising Eli.
"A curse, escaping from the lips of Saintly Clare Edwards? Color me surprised!" Eli joked, but Clare was too caught up in his painting to respond to his mocking.
"Oh my god Eli, this is the most amazing painting I've ever seen you do."
"Does that mean you've hated all of my paintings up to this point? I am offended! Do you even think I'm a good painter?"
"Eli, I love you but can you be quiet for like, two minutes please? Thanks," Clare said, and Eli pouted, but allowed Clare time to look at his painting in silence. He had worked harder on that single painting than probably any other piece he's done. The lighting inside his apartment was perfect, and everything just seemed so perfect.
"Clare?" Eli asked, hopefulness etched in his voice.
"Yeah?" she answered.
"I think I'm ready."
"Ready for what?"
"Ready to show my art in a gallery," he said, and Clare tackled him in a huge hug.
Author's Note:
Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi.
I just want to apologize for totally botching Cece and Bullfrog. I just can't write them I'm sorry I suck hahah.
Just... fyi. I'm kinda falling out of love with this story. It's just, my writing seems stale in a way, and I feel like I'm dragging it on and on and on. So I might end it earlier than I thought I would. Don't worry, it's not like I won't finish it or anything. But, it might be shorter than I expected it to be.
Anyway, this is the last fluffy chapter. Next chapter is when shit starts going down. Yeah. I just felt like they ought to have some happy times before everything fucks up.
*Eli isn't a hoarder because Julia never died so yeah I'm a lazy fuck whatever. Come at me, bro.
Review, please? For me?
