Ello, mates! Here's another chapter for you all. Thanks for the reviews. To those who explained what they have learned from the Much Music promos, thanks.
Enjoy!
Clare let out a sigh as she wandered into the gym. She wasn't in the mood to do a bunch of jumping jacks or sit-ups. All she wanted right now was to sleep. You'd be surprised how much you lose of your sleep quota when your parents are arguing twenty-four hours, seven days a week. The class hadn't started yet, so she took a seat on the bleachers. She sat beside Alli, who looked positively blissful.
"Hey." Clare greeted. Alli's head snapped up and she looked at her friend with a love-sick expression.
"Hi, Clare." She replied. She let out a dramatically long sigh and rested her cheek against her fist.
"Something wrong?" Clare asked, watching as the other girls filed in, taking a seat wherever they could. Alli gave Clare a grin.
"The exact opposite. It's just…I'm so…" Alli struggled for the right words. Clare decided to help. "Elated?" Clare offered. Alli nodded dreamily.
"One minute Drew and I are at each others' throats, the next we're an item!" Alli sighed happily and stared off into space again.
"Good for you, Alli. Drew seems like a nice guy." Clare responded. Alli was about to go off on her usual 'Drew-is-so-awesome' rant but stopped when they heard a whistle blow.
Coach Armstrong was running drills for the boys. Clare's eyes flashed to K.C. Their eyes locked. He offered a small, shy smile to her before resuming his task. Clare sighed. He was still trying to be nice to her. She couldn't understand why.
"You can't have him back, you know." Clare turned to Jenna, who was giving her a dirty look. Clare was stunned. Jenna almost never talked to her. So, it surprised Clare that the first thing her ex-best friend would say to her was actually an accusation. She arched a brow in confusion.
"Excuse me, who's said I wanted him back?" Clare questioned irately. Was she not even allowed to look at K.C.? She wasn't in the mood to deal with this.
"Clearly, you do. Or else you wouldn't be eyeballing him." Clare scoffed. Since when did glancing mean eyeballing? Clare had wanted to just leave it at that, but something inside of her snapped. Who was Jenna to be accusing her of wanting K.C. back? Who was Jenna to be talking to her at all?
"Wow, Jenna. I didn't think you'd be so paranoid as to think his ex still wants him back." Clare shot back hotly. A small voice warned her to leave it at that, but she ignored it completely.
"Everyone knows you never really got over him." A few of the girls were staring to stare. Coach Armstrong was too busy with the boys to notice anything the girls were doing. That annoyed Clare. Football season or not, he should be attentive to everyone, not just the boys. But Clare was more annoyed with Jenna's comment.
"I don't know what kind of group you're hanging out with, but, I don't want K.C back and I never will." Clare rolled her eyes and hopped off the stands. She was done with Jenna and her attitude. She stopped suddenly when she heard Jenna's snarky comeback.
"Oh, please. I know you do. And I know you hate the fact that he chose me over you." A few girls gasped. Alli stared at Jenna like she was crazy. Clare had thought Jenna would be a little nicer to her, but Clare had guessed she was having a bad day. Either way, the uncalled for remark would not go ignored.
"Why would I want a cheater back anyways?" Clare asked, turning to face Jenna. Their eyes locked. The tension was thick in the area. Clare just couldn't understand why Jenna was picking on her.
"Because you still like him." Jenna responded with a shrug. Clare snorted.
"No, I like Eli." Clare stated bluntly. She should've been embarrassed, but she didn't have it in her at the moment. She felt Alli give her a small pat on the back, encouraging her. She was grateful to Alli for that.
"The weird, eleventh grade Goth kid? I doubt it. Who would downgrade to Eli once you've had K.C.?" Clare clenched her teeth. Downgrade? No one bad-mouthed Eli in front of her. Clare crossed her arms over her chest.
"For your information, Eli has more maturity and personality in his pinky than K.C. has in his whole body. I'd pick Eli over K.C. any day. Besides, Eli wouldn't cheat on me, even if you wore clothing two sizes too small for you while practically sitting on his lap." One girl let out a low whistle while a few others snickered. Clare felt quite proud. She knew Eli wouldn't ever cheat on her. It just wasn't his style.
"Are you calling me fat?" Jenna asked, her voice growing shrill. She stood up and marched over to Clare. All bets were off now. Clare was about to respond hastily that she hadn't meant that, but Clare wasn't about to back down.
"You said it, not me." Clare countered, smirking. It felt good to see Jenna fume silently, but Clare knew that she would regret this later.
"How dare you!" She hissed in a low voice. The other girls were now standing, eager to hear what would be said next. Where was that Coach Armstrong?
"How dare I? You're the hypocrite who accused me of changing my body to please others when you're the one who took diet pills!" Clare condemned. She'd be damned if she let Jenna have the last word. Jenna froze. Clare really didn't want to pull that card, but Jenna had deserved it.
"Well…" Jenna began. Clare turned and started to walk away, smugness radiating off of her. Alli followed suit, much to her surprise. "…well at least my mother isn't a whore!" Clare froze. She turned slowly to face Jenna. She was smiling slyly.
"Excuse me?" She questioned, her voice dropping dangerously. Clare would not stand for anyone talking about her parents.
"My brother saw your mom sneaking out with another man." Jenna retorted. Clare felt herself slowly losing control.
"That's a lie!" Clare responded hotly. Marital problems or not, Clare's mother would never sneak around with another man. It wasn't possible. And she sure as hell was not going to find out through Jenna Middleton.
"No it isn't!" Jenna responded, stomping her foot. The two stared at each other, anger raging in their eyes. Clare stepped closer.
"Well, at least I have a mom." She hissed. Jenna's jaw dropped, as did the other females who were listening in. Never in a million years did Clare think she could be so harsh, but Jenna had no right to include her mother in this. Clare was surprised at what happened next.
Jenna walked over and slapped her. The girls around her gasped. Clare reeled and held her stinging cheek. Clare looked at Jenna, who looked as shocked as everyone else. Clare snapped. She walked over to Jenna and pushed her.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She questioned. But the question fell on deaf ears.
All hell broke loose. Both girls wrestled with each other. Shoving. Slapping. Hair pulling. Clare had never gotten in a fight before, but she was holding up pretty well.
It wasn't until K.C. pulled Jenna away and Connor pulled Clare away that the fighting ceased. Coach Armstrong stared at the two in awe. Never would e expect Jenna—from the power squad—and Clare, one of the smartest girls in this school, to fight.
"P-Principal's office now!" He commanded. Both girls yanked themselves out of the boys' grasp and huffed out of the gymnasium.
Principal Simpson stared at the two females in astonishment.
"You two…got in a fight?" He asked, incredulous. Both girls nodded. Clare folded her arms over her chest.
"H-How? Why?" He asked. He turned to Clare. She sighed.
"Jenna and I got into an argument and she hit me." Clare announced, sinking further into her seat. Archie turned to Jenna.
"Is this true?" He asked. Jenna nodded glumly. Principal Simpson sighed and rubbed his temple.
"Okay, I'll let you two off pretty easy, since this was your first offense. Jenna, for starting the fight, you have two weeks detention. Clare, you have one week. You two can get back to class." He announced. Both girls nodded and stood. Principal Simpson smiled.
"How about a handshake? A truce." Clare wanted to groan. She wasn't in the mood to even look at her, let alone shake her hand. Both girls turned to each other and gave a harsh, single shake before walking out of the office. Clare looked at the time. She still had about half and hour until her next class.
"Clare? I'm sorry. I...I don't know why I said those things. T-They just started coming out and I-" Jenna began.
"Save it." Clare growled and walked away. She decided she should go to the bathroom and clean herself up.
The whole day, Clare avoided anyone and everyone, including Eli. She should have been worried when he didn't show up for English, but was, instead, rather happy.
Later that day, Clare was surprised, and disappointed, to find that she was in detention alone. Where was Bianca DeSousa? Where was Mark 'Fitz' Fitzgerald?
"Excuse me, Mr. Perino. Where is everyone?" Clare asked, slipping into a seat in the middle. He shrugged.
"I'm not sure. I don't think anyone else is supposed to be here today. So, if I may ask, why are you here Ms. Edwards?" He asked, standing up.
"I got into a fight with Jenna Middleton." She admitted sheepishly. Dom Perino nodded understandingly.
"Should Ms. Middleton be here, too?" He questioned. Clare inwardly cringed. She's take Fitz over Jenna any day at this point. He stood up and exited the classroom, calling over his shoulder that he would return.
Clare smiled to herself. Mr. Perino didn't need to tell her to behave. She sighed and dropped her head on the desk. Maybe Mr. Perino would let her read a book to pass the time.
"Clare?" Startled, Clare jumped in her seat. She whirled around to face a confused Eli. She gulped. He advanced towards her. "You do know that school ended fifteen minutes ago, right?" He asked, smirking. Clare nodded, feeling foolish.
"Wait…" He stopped, realization dawning on him. "This is detention. Why do you have detention?" He interrogated, sitting in the seat behind her. Clare knew that she was a terrible liar, especially to the ever observant Eli. She was just going to have to suck it up and tell him.
"I got into a fight." She mumbled quickly. Eli reached out and gently fingered her cheek. She involuntarily winced. She had forgotten how hard Jenna had packed her punches.
"Yeah, I heard about that, but I didn't think it was real. Jenna Middleton, right?" He asked. She nodded gravely, feeling ashamed. For some odd reason, it seemed childish and uncharacteristic. She wondered if Eli would think badly of her.
"That's my girl!" He cheered, giving her a pat on the back. Clare gazed at him, confusion apparent on her face.
"You…aren't mad?" She asked. He shook his head vigorously.
"Mad? No way. I'm sure she had it coming to her." Clare shrugged, somewhat agreeing. His face fell slightly. "I heard the fight was about me and Guthrie. Is that true?" He asked. Clare sighed.
"Not entirely, but you were included. Something about K.C. being better than you. Of course, that couldn't ever be true. Things kind of went from bad to worse after that." She admitted, hoping to appear uncaring. She froze when she felt his lips connect with her cheek.
"That is totally cool of you, Clare." He grinned at her. She gave a half smile back, but she couldn't concentrate very well. Eli Goldsworthy had just kissed her cheek and called her cool. Her day officially seemed better.
"Come on. Detention isn't for you." She reluctantly followed him out of the classroom.
"I can't. I'll get in trouble." She started to pull back, but froze when she saw Mr. Perino staring at the two. Eli also froze.
She was confused when Mr. Perino stared up at the ceiling and started whistling a tune. He glanced at her for a minute and gave her a wink.
She followed Eli out of the hall and into the sunlight, giggling madly.
Yay. Now, for those who think Jenna seemed to mean or too out of character, this is a somewhat current day fanfic, somewhat following the story line. So if Jenna is pregnant, she will experience paranoia, jealousy, rage, etc, etc.
I hoped you liked it. Reviews make me smile like the sun!
~S.S.