Wow, thank you for the responses for this story, I'm glad you guys like it. I hope you enjoy the next chapter. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi.

Bold

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"Is he hot? How's his hair? What colour are his eyes? Come on, Clare! Don't leave me hanging."

I sighed and realized that slipping the news to Alli about the new neighbour's son would have her boy crazed mind kick in. It's not that I hated the fact that she talked about boys during most her wake hours, it can just be a little annoying at times.

"Alli," I said. "Breathe." I laughed when she slapped my arm.

"Stop stalling, tell me!" she demanded.

"Okay!" I surrendered, knowing she won't leave me alone until I did. "What do you want to know? I mean, by first glance, he's very moody and disrespectful."

"Clare," Alli interrupted. "His looks," she said as if that would explain everything.

Suddenly, Eli's green eyes flickered in my mind. The way they sparked with boredom and amusement, how hypnotizing they were…Stop it, Clare! I shook my head and looked into Alli's pleading brown eyes. I knew if I told her that he was good looking, I would never hear the end of it, but I gave in anyways. I always do.

"He has really nice green eyes," I started, looking down at my crossed legs. "His hair is the perfect length, and it looked very silky in the sun, but he isn't your average guy. He's….different." I cautiously looked up from my eyelashes; gauging Alli's expression. She had a grin on her face and her eyes were wide. Oh boy.

She hopped up and down, my bed shook underneath us from her enthusiasm. "This is AWESOME!" she said excitedly. "Do you know what this means?"

I gave her a confused look.

She sighed over dramatically and stopped bouncing. "A new, hot, neighbour is the perfect way to get over some things," she said cautiously.

"I don't need to get over anything with anyone," I gritted, annoyed that she would bring up the past, again.

Alli sighed. "I'm sorry, Clare. I just want you to be happy. He was a real jerk to you," she said, placing a hand over mine.

I pulled my hand away and drew in a breath before my anger got the best of me. "I know, Alli. But can we not bring him up? He's the past and I don't need to think about drama during summer," I said, laying on my stomach and opening up my journal. "Besides, I don't have time for new neighbours, I need to work on my-hey!" I yelled as my book was snatched from my grasp.

"You need to stop worrying about writing and have some fun! Its summer, remember?" she said.

"But I want to send in my story for Girth Hobbits, you know how big that would be for me if I win the contest," I argued.

"I know," she said in understanding, giving me my journal back.

This was why I loved Alli so much. Sure, she was boy crazed and put her foot in her mouth sometimes, but she was the most understanding person I've ever known. She always listens to me if I have a problem or if I just needed her.

I smiled softly and opened my journal again, re-reading my words carefully and wondering if I should add in anymore. Alli jumped off my bed and went to my balcony.

"Let's go swimming," she beamed.

I looked over to the balcony and saw the sun shining down on her. The weather was beautiful and a swim did sound good at the moment…

"Okay," I agreed.

We put on our swimsuits(thankfully, Alli always brought hers when she visits) and head down to the back yard, where the built in pool was.

"Come to mama." Alli squealed as she jumped in, the water splashing everywhere.

I laughed and jumped in after her, feeling the cold water tingle my skin. I went on my back and started to float, feeling the tension in my muscles untangle. I needed this, summer has just started and I've been working so much on my story to make it perfect for the contest. I'll probably work on it later, but right now, I will relax.

Splash!

Or not.

I stood up abruptly when the water was splashed towards me and went up my nose. Once I started to breath again, I saw Alli with a smug look on her face, her arms crossed over her chest. It's war. I splashed back with such force, it sent her tumbling back. I smirked in victory but Alli wasn't giving up without a fight, she splashed me again and we found ourselves in an never-ending splashing war. We laughed at how silly we were being but it was too fun to stop.

Slam!

We stopped splashing when the sound of a screen door was slammed shut. It wasn't my screen door, so it must of came from next door. Shortly after, metal music echoed outside. It was faint, as if someone was listening to it with headphones, but it was still heard.

Alli looked back at me, raising her eyebrows, before climbing out the pool and walking on the grass. When she reached the fence, she crouched on her knees and peeked through the small hole in the fence.

"What are you doing?" I asked shrilly as I followed her and dropped on the grass next to her.

"Shh!" she hushed, still peeking her eye through the hole. "Clare, look," she moved aside so I can peek through the hole.

I crawled over a bit and pressed my eye to the hole. Eli was sitting on a chair, reading a book with his headphones on. The music was obviously coming from him. I analyzed closely on how absorbed he was with his book; his eyes were straining in the page as if he had to imprint the words in his mind; his hands were clutching it desperately, as if he loosens his grip, the book will vanish. I never seen someone so intense about a book before.

"Clare," Alli said, breaking me away from the trance I was in. "Is that him? The neighbour's son?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's Eli."

"Uh….no offence, Clare, but he looks weird," her face showed borderline disgusted.

"No, he's not," I defended quickly. "He's just…different." I concluded while looking back at him.

"Oh. My. God," she said, emphasizing each word slowly.

I looked at her to see her mouth gaped. "What?" I said.

"You like him," she said, a surprised smile covering her features.

I scrunched my eyebrows together. "I don't even know him," I said, astonishment evident in my voice.

"You just keep telling yourself that," she said, peeking through the hole again.

I looked through it again as well and noticed Eli had his headphones around his neck but he was still reading.

"Clare! Are you in the backyard?"

Thud!

"Ouch," Alli and I groaned in unison.

Both of ours eye widen as we were realized how loud we were. Panicking, we scrambled away from the fence and grabbed our things before going inside the house.

"Hey, mom," I said, standing near the island with Alli.

My mom was unloading groceries before she acknowledged us. "Hey, girls. I'm guessing you two went swimming?" She laughed as she eyed the water dripping from us.

I laughed nervously, my heart still beating rapidly from before. That was a close call.

"I actually have to get going," Alli said abruptly. I looked at her in alarm. She was supposed to sleepover tonight. She gave me a sympathetic smile before turning back to my mom. "I'll see you later Ms. Edwards, bye Clare." She walked past me and went out the door.

I sighed and took a seat at the table, placing my hands under my chin.

"Clare, I forgot to tell you this morning, we're invited for dinner tonight," my mom said, placing the food in the fridge.

I dropped my hands on the table. "Who's are we invited to?" I asked, feeling the panic rise up my throat.

"The Goldsworthys'. You know, the people that moved in yesterday. Did you forget already Clare-bear?" she smiled, taking no note of what my face looks like at the moment.

We are going to have dinner…with them. With him. Oh, goodness. Can this day get anymore weird? I can just picture my mother at the dinner table with Cece and Bullfrog. With their eccentric personalities and her string demeanour….oh boy, this is not going to go well.

"Great," I groaned. "That'll be fun."

.

.

"Clare, stop slouching, it's bad posture."

"Mom…"

Her brown eyes gave me a warning look that shut my mouth immediately. I smoothed the wrinkles on my blue dress and waited for the door to open. My mom sighed before knocking once more, impatience evident in her action. Finally, the door opened and Cece welcomed us with a huge smile and a hug for my mom. I inwardly smiled at the shocked expression on my mom's face.

"Thank you so much for coming," Cece beamed as we walked to the kitchen.

"It's a pleasure," my mom said uncomfortably. She took out a bottle of wine form her purse, a house warming gift I supposed, and took a seat at the table.

"Hey! Clarabelle!" hollered the gruff voice of Bullfrog once he walked in the kitchen.

Clarabelle? "Uh….Hello, Bullfrog," I muttered.

"You must be Helen, please to meet you," he shook my mothers hand and she only smiled uneasily in return.

There was an awkward silence but Cece only smiled and took the wine from my mother. Bullfrog sat adjacent from my mother and tried to make small conversation while I stood at the archway, feeling very uncomfortable. I noticed that Eli was nowhere to be found and it actually gave me hope that maybe he won't be joining us. He's probably out, he wouldn't be here for a useless-

"Clare, could you get Eli for me and tell him dinner is ready," Cece said, making me grimace.

So much for that.

I twiddled with my fingers and tried to think of a way to get out of this. "Well…..I…."

"She would be delighted to," my mom interjected, giving me a side glance glare.

I sighed in defeat and listened to Cece's instructions to where his room was before leaving the kitchen. When I walked up the stairs, I noticed that his room was the same one as mine. That's not weird at all.

To my surprise, there was no music heard from inside. I hesitantly knocked on the door while my heart started to race. There was no sound, making me frown and knocking with more force.

"What?" his muffled voice came from inside.

I took in a deep breath and placed my hand on the knob before opening the door. I wasn't surprised to see the many scary looking posters draped over the walls, or the black bed sheets sprawled on his bed. I finally spotted Eli, he was sitting in a chair, his back towards me. A desk was in front of him, and his head was lowered.

I cleared my throat. "Your mother wanted me to tell you that dinner is ready," I said, my voice quiet and tense.

He turned around in his chair and I was welcomed by his lily pad eyes. He looked at me, his eyes analyzing, before he raised his eyebrows.

I was starting to become more uncomfortable and I just wanted him to get his but downstairs.

"D-Did you hear me?" I stammered.

"Oh, I heard you," his voice was husky and alluring. "I just don't see why I have to go downstairs."

I blinked in disbelief. "It's dinner time and it would be polite for you to come downstairs."

He slouched in his chair and his legs sprawled out while a smug look displayed on his face. "Polite, is not really my style," he said with ease.

This guy is becoming more annoying by the minute.

I narrowed my eyes while placing my hands on my hips. "Well, maybe you'll just have to hold your tongue and do something your not fond of for once," I stated confidently.

He raised one eyebrow and chuckled lightly, making me grow angry. "I never took you as the type of girl to be so….bold."

"And why is that?" I challenged, raising an eyebrow of my own.

"Oh, I don't know…" he rambled while his eyes looked in different directions. "I just thought, coming from the girl who stalked me this morning then ran away, I would take you as a shy person," he smirked as my face turned scarlet.

"I…umm….I-It's…" I stuttered, at loss of words, adding more to my embarrassment.

"It's okay," he cut in. "I'm used to girls fawning over me."

I scoffed and crossed my arms at his cockiness. "Please, I've seen better."

He stood up from his seat and he shook his head in amusement. "Sure you have." He walked past me and left me flustered then ever.

Curse you, Eli Goldsworthy.