I Do Not Own DeGrassi

It's a bit of a filler chapter but necessary

Ch.25 Poor Thing

(CLARE)

The others were talking in the kitchen; Eli tried to hide his phone but it was too late she'd seen the text, her chest got tight, she gasped catching it in her throat and then became hysterical.

"They're going to take me," she whimpered nearly inaudibly, her heart was pounding she started hyperventilating as another panic attack began. "They're going to kidnap me Eli, take me from you, take me back!" Her voice rising just slightly but her breathing becoming more erratic.

"ADAM!" Eli called to get the boys attention. "She's having a panic attack!"

Adam came over kneeling in front of Clare and gently put his hands on her wrists. "Clare focus on me okay, deep breaths." She looked in his eyes and took a shuddering deep breath. "Good, again." Adam instructed.

Another shuddering deep breath, then a steady one and another and the panic attack subsided. Eli put his arm around her again and Adam sat at her other side on the couch.

"What brought that on?" Mo questioned.

Eli took out his phone again, "They're texting me now." He told them handing the phone to Adam.

Adam looked at the text, Clare felt his body tense next to her, his face flashed fear just briefly and then became red in anger. Adam passed the phone to Drew and they looked at the text. Clare watched their faces as they became irate, jaws clenched, eyes narrowed; Drew growled from the back of his throat.

"Those fucking bastards I'm gonna rip their fucking throats out!" Owen asserted as Drew handed Eli back his phone.

They all sat down, a tense angry silence filling the room. As safe as Clare felt at Owen's house with the five of them the text had distressed her and made her uneasy. She was biting her lip and wringing her shirt in her hands.

"What's that?" Drew said suddenly and they all looked at him.

Drew leaned forward towards Clare and she released her shirt and he gently lifted it to reveal a shallow cut; it was red with dried blood and extended the length of her stomach just above the waist band of her jeans.

"Fitz." She said quietly.

"There's a washroom down the hall, Eli take her in there and get pictures of that and her scratches and anything else he did." Owen instructed.

Eli pulled her off the couch gently and walked her back to the washroom closing the door behind them. He took pictures of the scrapes and scratches along her arms and legs first.

"Take off your shirt so I can take pictures of your stomach." Eli requested in a soft kind voice.

She pulled her shirt off and turned to the mirror so she could see for herself. Aside from the cut she also had a few scratches from hitting the ground when he grabbed her leg.

Now that she was aware of the cut on her belly and her many scratches they stung terribly, she also became aware that her back was throbbing and ached. "My back hurts."

Eli gently ran his hand along her back and she flinched just slightly. "You have a developing bruise, a very large one."

Eli stepped back a little and took a picture of it, then he turned her and snapped a few pictures of her front. She put her shirt back on and they rejoined the others in the living room, they had been talking but fell silent upon seeing her and Eli. She sat on the couch again and Eli sat next to her.

"Okay so what happened?" Mo asked.

"We were supposed be collecting samples of native plant life from a list. I was working with Wes and then I saw Fitz, leaning on a tree with his knife in his hand. He threatened to stab Wes and I knew that he would, that he'd hurt Wes to get to me and I couldn't let him. I told Wes I had to use the washroom and waited till he walked away and then I ran, back toward the school. I was trying to get to you three in gym class before Fitz could get me but…" relaying the story brought the fear back as though it was happening again in that moment and she stopped to take a deep shaky breath. Eli wrapped his arm around her and Adam took her hand.

"Your safe here Clare, we're all here. The text said we couldn't hide you forever which means they don't know where you are." Mo assured her.

She nodded bit her lip briefly and continued. "But he caught my leg and I fell to the ground, that's where all the scratches came from, hitting the brush on the ground. Before I could get up and run again he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder and started walking off with me." Thoughts of what would have happened if Fitz had actually made off with her began invading her mind and she had to stop, shutting he eyes tightly and taking a deep breath. Eli embraced her more tightly and Adam squeezed her hand, she opened her eyes. "I saw you three in gym and screamed for you and Fitz took me off his shoulder and slammed me to the grass, hard enough to knock the wind out of me."

"And give her a giant bruise on her back," Eli added.

"I tried to get up and he pushed me down. He was angry at me for yelling for you, he told me I belonged to them and they were just taking me back and then he kissed me." She shuddered remembering the kiss, the taste of stale beer and cigarette ash still on her lips. "I was already dizzy and short of breath and started having a panic attack and I was sure that I was going to pass out and Fitz would take me away." She looked at Eli as few tears began slipping down her cheeks. "I thought I'd never see you again." She looked at Adam, "Or you or any of you. He finally stopped kissing me and told me not to cry, that we were going to have fun. I tried to talk but I couldn't get enough air. He got on top of me, dragged the knife across my stomach that's where that cut came from. He said he and Reese were going to have the best time taking my virginity and then I passed out."

Having finished her account she put her head on Eli's shoulder as her tears ceased. The room was filled with a tense silence, the others incensed and sort of anxious. They would glance at her, look at each other and then look away. The growl of Mo's stomach broke the tension.

"Lunch time, come on we have ham, turkey, pastrami and because Tris likes it, bologna lunch meats." Owen said standing up and walking behind the couch to the kitchen. "We have everything for sandwiches and there's chips in the pantry and soda's in the fridge."

Everyone else got up following Owen to the kitchen, even Eli but Clare remained seated and Eli looked back at her. "Don't you want some lunch?"

"Not hungry." She said quietly.

"Clare you had orange juice for breakfast, you didn't eat anything at break, you have to eat." Eli scolded.

"Raw nerves and fear don't make for much of an appetite." She explained as she heard the other boys busily and noisily making sandwiches in the kitchen behind her.

Eli sat on the couch next to her again taking her hands in his. "You're safe now Clare we have you, they don't know you're here."

"I know and I feel safe with all of you I do, but Fitz almost had me today. You didn't hear him or see his face when he told me I belong to them. You saw their text Eli, Reese said I belong to them and they were going to take…"

He cut her off, "You belong to me Clare, not them only me."

"HEY!" Adam griped from behind them.

Clare giggled, "And of course I belong to Adam too." She said looking back at him and he smiled.

"Yes Adam too but not Reese or Fitz." Eli said as he pulled her up from the couch he kissed her softly, they walked into the kitchen and Eli began making himself a sandwich.

Clare grabbed a soda from the fridge and kissed Adam's cheek. "Thanks Adam for always knowing how to make me laugh."

Adam smiled at her, "You do belong to us Clare, not them, you belong to all of us."

"That sounds kinky." Drew snickered.

Adam grimaced smacking his brother upside the head hard enough to elicit an "ow" from Drew and Clare giggled. "What I meant was that we're all your friends and we're all going to keep you safe because we all care about you and in that sense you belong to all of us, but not Drew because he can't keep his mind out of the gutter."

"Hey!" Drew complained.

Clare giggled and kissed Drew's cheek. "I belong to you too Drew, you're my friend and your helping keep me safe." Clare assured him.

Drew smiled and stuck his tongue out at Adam, Clare shook her head and rolled her eyes, as they all sat down at the oval dining table that luckily sat six. She wasn't hungry enough to eat a sandwich but she grabbed a few chips to satisfy Eli.

"I think Reese knew," she said quietly after a few minutes and they all looked at her. "That my class was going to the preserve today. It can't be a coincidence that Fitz was there. I know we weren't that far from the ravine but he showed up so quickly and when I left history class Reese had this…self-assured smile on his face."

Eli put his arm around her and kissed her cheek, Mo who was sitting on her other side put a hand on her back as the group fell silent again.

"Okay distraction time, let's watch a movie." Owen said.

They went back to the living room and Owen put on a movie. Clare sat on the couch sipping her soda, Eli's arm around her as he finished his lunch. They watched movies through the afternoon until there was a knock at the front door. Clare gasped, jumped and huddled into Eli; his other arm came around her and held her tightly.

"Relax it's probably just K.C. and Connor." Drew said as Owen got up to answer the door.

She heard Owen open the door and then K.C. and Connor's voices as they greeted him and she relaxed. They joined the others in the living room as Mo paused the movie.

"Any sign of the Terror Twins?" K.C. asked.

"Haven't seen them but they sent me this just after we got here." Eli said handing his phone to K.C. and Connor and they looked at the text and then handed the phone back to Eli. "I got pictures of her injuries from her encounter with Fitz; I'll forward them to you and the text too."

"Snake alerted the officers at DeGrassi about Fitz and filed a trespassing report. They're going to double the number of officers at the school for a few days next week." Connor informed them.

Clare smiled a little and nodded but somehow she wasn't sure it was going to help.

"Oh and Sav is home for the weekend, he picked the girls up from school." K.C. told her.

"Good, if Sav is there it's another reason to deter them from going to Alli's." Clare said.

"Yeah but they haven't paid any attention to Alli or Jenna other than to get to you." K.C. reminded her. "Jake said he was going to tell your Mom you were spending the weekend at Alli's to work on a project with her and Jenna."

"Great so after tonight where do we hide her?" Adam asked.

"We can all stay here for the weekend, or at least as many of us whose parents will allow it. My parents won't be back till Monday morning after we leave for school. I'll get Tris to stay at Tori's for the whole weekend; he's done it before so I know it'll be okay." Owen told them.

"Cece and Bullfrog will let me stay all weekend." Eli said.

"I can tell Mom I'm staying at Eli's for the weekend." Adam shrugged.

"I'll just tell Mom I'm staying here but leave out that the rest of you will be here." Drew added.

"I'll have to check with Snake and Spike and they already think I'm staying at K.C.'s tonight." Connor spoke.

"My Mom should have no problem letting me stay all weekend as long as I make my shifts at Little Miss Steaks tomorrow and Sunday." K.C. told them.

They all looked at Mo, "Oh yeah I can stay all weekend no problem."

"Okay good so tomorrow we should all go home and get clothes and…" Drew began but Clare cut him off.

"No." She said quietly and they all looked at her. "No if you all go home, if I go home, they could follow one of you. They'll certainly follow me and it'll lead them straight here, even with all of you here if they know I'm here…no we can't go home."

"She's right we'll go to the mall tomorrow and you guys can get some clothes for the weekend." Said Owen.

"Great so what do we sleep in tonight?" Mo asked.

"I had both Reese and Fitz in my room and bed in nothing more than boxers, you can all sleep in boxers it won't bother me." She announced and they all looked at her.

"Everyone sleep in their clothes." Eli and Adam said together.

(ADAM)

He was helping Clare make up the fold out couch that Eli, Clare and by her insistence Adam were going to sleep on. The others were with Owen getting air mattresses and stuff for them to sleep on. When Clare's phone beeped they both froze and looked at her purse.

"It's probably Jake checking in." She said with a nervous smile but he could hear the anxiety in her voice. She pulled her phone from her purse and bit her lip as tears came to her eyes. "It's them." She said handing him her phone.

Sleep well tonight baby doll, we'll find you tomorrow I promise.

Adam hugged her close. "They can't get you, not with all of us here. They don't know you're here and we won't leave your side tomorrow either."

"What happened?" Drew asked coming back into the living room.

"They sent her a text." Adam said handing Drew her phone.

Clare broke from Adam's arms and sat on the bed as the others returned to the room. Adam took Clare's phone back and forwarded the text to K.C. after the others saw it. Once everyone had their beds set up they put in another movie and Clare curled into Eli. Halfway through the second movie Clare and Eli were asleep and it didn't take long for Adam to fall asleep as well. He woke up the next morning when he heard noises in the kitchen, he sat up and looked over the back of the couch and Drew smiled at him, his mouth full of bagel.

"You know," Clare yawned sitting up beside Adam, "after a weekend of having six more teenage boys in your house I think we'll have to restock your house with food."

"Don't worry Mom'll buy food on Monday when she gets back." Owen assured her.

Clare stretched and looked to her other side. "Where's Eli?" She asked.

"He's taking a shower." Drew informed her.

"You guys hungry? There's bagels and cereal, coffee and OJ." Owen said.

"Just coffee." Clare said getting out of bed.

"Nope you're eating if I have to feed you myself." Adam insisted.

Clare scrunched up her face at him but he sat her down at the table and went to make her a bagel. Mo, Connor and K.C. were already at the table eating and talking. When Clare's phone rang they all froze and looked at her.

She got up from the table and got her phone, "It's okay it's just Jake." She told them before answering her phone. She started talking to Jake they would be there all weekend and were going to the mall that day to get clothes.

"We should have Jenna and Alli meet us at the mall." K.C. said.

"Good idea, I know Clare will feel better if they're with us. I know the Terror Twins haven't bothered them at all but she keeps worrying about Alli and Jenna anyway." Adam said.

"I'll call Jenna." Said K.C. just as Clare hung up with Jake.

Clare was about to put her phone down again when it beeped. "It's them." She said quietly after looking at the phone.

Adam and Eli, who had come back to the living room just then, rushed to her. Eli took her in his arms and hugged her tightly while Adam took her phone and looked at the text.

Hope you slept well last night precious. Your body guards can't hide you from us all day. We will find you and take you back. You know you belong to us.

Adam forwarded the message to K.C. and turned off her phone.

(ALLI)

"Sav why are you following us?" Alli whined as he came into the mall with her and Jenna.

"I'm not following you. I told you I was coming to the mall too besides you said you were meeting Clare; I thought I'd say hi to her." Sav said.

"I'm sure she'll be glad to see you but we're not just meeting Clare, I mean we are but spending time with Clare means spending time with seven boys." Jenna said.

"What do you mean?" Inquired Sav.

Alli spotted Clare near the food court, she looked like she had slept which was good but Eli was still holding her closely and Adam was standing right next to her, the football players making a tight semi-circle behind them. "That's what we mean." Alli said pointing.

"Okay I know why she's with Eli, Adam, K.C. and Connor but when did Clare become friends with Mo, Owen and Drew?" Questioned Sav.

Alli looked at Jenna unsure of how to answer that but it was too late the group had seen them and waved. "Hey Clare, guys." Alli said.

"Hi girls, hey Sav good to see you." Clare smiled.

"Yeah you too." Sav said slowly looking at the group.

While Sav exchanged pleasantries with the guys, Alli and Jenna turned their attention to Clare.

"Dave will meet us here at lunch and stay and then he'll take me and Jenna home. So how'd it go last night? Anything happen?" Alli queried.

"They didn't know where I was but they texted Eli when we got there, and texted me once last night and once this morning." Clare informed them. "What about you guys anything?"

"Not a peep but they wouldn't dare especially not with Sav home, besides we're not the ones they want." Alli said.

"Yeah they haven't tried kidnapping us from school; twice." Jenna commented.

Sav had been talking with Mo but he suddenly fell silent and looked at the girls a shocked and confused expression on his face. "Wait what? Someone tried to kidnap you? What the hell is going on? Why would they come to our house or after Jenna and my sister?"

"They wouldn't…" Drew started but Sav interrupted him.

"They who, who tried to kidnap you?!"

"Reese and Fitz," Owen told him.

"Right and they won't come after Alli or Jenna Clare is just paranoid, worried about her friends." Mo assured him.

"I'm still confused." Sav said.

"They threatened Alli and Jenna and the rest of us but they will only hurt one of us if we're standing in the way of them getting to Clare. She's the one they want, they've been stalking her." Adam informed him.

"Stalking you, they tried to kidnap you?!" Sav exclaimed looking at Clare.

Clare nodded and bit her lip.

"Yes but all of us and Dave and Jake are going to protect her and your upsetting her now go away." Alli said pushing her brother off.

"Yeah but…" He started.

"No not another word and don't say anything to Mom and Dad she doesn't want her parents to know. Dave will bring us home by dinner; we'll see you there now go." Alli said shooing Sav away. He looked at the group once more, back at Alli and then walked off into the mall. "I'm so sorry Clare Sav doesn't always know when to stop. Come on I believe we're supposed to be buying you clothes for the weekend."

Alli pulled her friends hand and began walking toward the stores and the others followed. At lunch most of them had bought what they needed and they met Dave in the food court. Everyone got food and sat down; even Clare was eating a little.

"Do we have enough to go to the cops yet?" Alli asked.

"K.C. and I tried this morning, they said she can file restraining orders but Clare refuses to do so. The phone numbers they call and text her from trace back to buner cells so they can't prove it was either of them that sent any of the texts or made any of the phone calls. She can file assault charges against Fitz since Eli saw him hit her and Owen, Drew and Mo saw him sitting on her with a knife in his hand." Connor told them.

"Yeah but he gets like a fine and maybe a night in jail and there would be a trial and he'd be free until the trial and even if he is found guilty of assault his maximum sentence is like two months in juvie, with good be behavior he'd be out in a few weeks and even angrier. No we're not going to the cops or my parents until we have enough to send them both away for a long time." Clare asserted and Eli put an arm around her.

The group went silent Clare was agitated her head on Eli's shoulder and they all finished their lunch in silent contemplation.

"I'm going to the washroom." Jenna said breaking the silence when she had finished eating.

"Me too." Clare spoke getting up from the table.

"Wait for me." Alli said hopping up.

She linked her arms with Clare's and Jenna's and they went to the girl's washroom. Clare went to the mirror and looked at herself, Jenna and Alli went into two of the stalls.

"Ugh I look terrible and I actually slept last night! I'm surprised Reese and Fitz haven't gotten turned off by how burnt out and frazzled I look." Clare commented her voice echoing through the bathroom.

"Knowing their depraved minds it probably turns them on." Alli commented flushing the toilet and Jenna laughed.

Alli opened the stall door and went to the sink washing her hands; Jenna joined her at the sinks a second later to wash her own hands.

"We'll wait outside the door for you Clare." Jenna said as they dried their hands but there was no answer.

"Clare?!" Alli said anxiously.

Still no answer, they went to the stall doors and began pushing them open, all the stalls were empty and there was no sign of Clare. The girls looked at each other the blood from both their faces had drained; neither girl seemed to be breathing. They both knew Clare wouldn't have left the washroom without telling them, nor would she have walked back alone. She was gone! It took a moment for them to breathe again, to be able to think and for their feet to move and when they did they took off running for the guys.

As soon as they saw the boys at the table they started yelling together. "ELI! ADAM! GUYS SHE'S GONE!"

Yes I know terrible cliffhanger to leave you with. I should have the update up by Fridayish.