Chapter 35

Miserable. That was the only way to describe what I'm feeling. A week's gone by. Mom allowed me to return to Toronto, but insisted on staying with me for the next month to make sure I'm okay alone. I was back at Degrassi, but Adam was nowhere to be seen. When I talked to Declan on the phone, he'd made some snide remark about Adam's mom rearranging his schedule so that I wouldn't even be in the hallway with him at the same time.

"Don't worry. Eventually, you'll have to see him," Holly J assured while we were on the way to French. "Mama Torres can't keep him in hiding forever," Holly J's optimism was starting to bug me. I mean, if I would eventually see him, he would have to answer the many texts, calls, and FaceRange messages I'd sent him. "Come on, we're going to be late," she insisted, taking my arm lightly and guiding me towards French. As we were walking in, the 11th grade class was walking out.

"Eli!" I exclaimed, bumping into him. He looked up at me, first bothered by the bump, and then surprised to see it's me. "Uh, hi Fiona," he answered slowly. "Where is Adam?" I asked, dead serious, folding my arms across my chest. Holly J did so too. Eli pressed his thin, dark lips together.

"Yeah, I gotta go, don't want to be late for English," he said, turning to leave. Holly J opened her pocket book and pulled out a blue Student Council hall pass. "You can say you were helping with dance ideas. Now where is he?" Holly J was kind of scary to these younger guys. I'm impressed. Eli paused thoughtfully.

"He doesn't want you to know where he is," Eli told me. He frowned, as if he was sad to tell me this for some unknown reason. I glanced at Holly J with wide eyes, and then back at Eli. "What? Why?" I asked urgently. Only a week ago, we'd been cozy and kissing and now… My stomach churned and my heart dropped. Eli sighed.

"I can't tell you," I stomped my foot slightly, not caring how childish I looked. "Eli!" I exclaimed. The bell rang. "Crap, I'm late," Eli murmured, turning to leave. A piece of paper fell out of his folder. It was a report sheet for a group project. In the box that said group members, Eli's name was scribbled at the top, Clare Edwards was written in neat script underneath, and Adam Torres was written at the bottom. I handed it to him.

"Holly J, 2 late passes please," I said, holding out my palm to her. She raised her eyebrows with a smile and placed two blue slips of paper in it. "Time to make an appearance in Adam's English class," I said, determined. Adam's not getting away from me that easily. I took Eli's hand and placed the slip in it. "Lead the way," I said grandly, waving my arms out in front of us.

"Adam's gonna kill me for this," Eli grumbled, heading down the hall. "Good luck!" Holly J called to us. When we arrived at Mrs. Dawes' English class, my heart was fluttering nervously. Maybe this isn't a good idea...maybe I should just head back to French... Eli swaggered in, smirking at Clare Edwards on the way to his seat.

"Mr. Goldsworthy, you'd better have a late pass," she said, walking over to him. He smirked and handed it to her proudly. "And who do we have here?" she asked aloud, looking at me as I stood awkwardly in the doorway. Everyone turned, including Adam. The brim of his hat, which I'd returned to him before he left, covered his eyes, leaving me to wonder if he was happy to see me or not.

"Miss Coyne, what are you doing here?" she asked thoughtfully. She wasn't the kind of teacher that would just kick me out; she was the type that would find out every little detail of why I came. All eyes were on me, especially the ones peeking out from under the shade of a gray knit hat. I could feel all of their eyes scanning down my blue dress and black leather boots, trying to sum me up. Trying to figure out what an infamous senior Degrassi socialite was doing in their English class. My heart was racing, but I felt steady. Confident. Determined. I took a deep breath and turned towards Mrs. Dawes. "I need to talk to Adam Torres."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please review!(: Xoxo, hugs and kisses, Degrassi and chocolate -C