Chapter Six: They Found Each Other (Part Two)

Author's Note: Just a word of caution for this chapter: I describe a little teensy bit what Julia (Eli's dead ex) looked like... don't kill me if you read this after we see her and this isn't actually what she looks like... haha. Also, A+ for you if you understand the death-cab reference! Also, I think this one is going to be a three-parter. These kids are difficult to find! Okay. Go read now! Enjoy!

"He's not at home, he's not in Queen's Park, he's not wandering the Eaton Centre, and he's not at the Dot." Clare said as she and Eli walked down Queen Street West.

"I'm running out of ideas." Eli said "He could be anywhere by now."

"Why isn't he answering his phone?" Clare asked

"Well... it could be because he doesn't want to be found. Or he could be..." Eli trailed off

Clare shook her head, not wanting to think about the second option.

"Why don't we split up?" Clare suggested. "You can keep driving around, and I'll go on foot. It'll be easier that way. And if either of us find him, we can call each other."

Eli didn't really want Clare to be alone, but he knew that this was the best shot they had at finding Adam. So he nodded, kissed her, and got into his hearse.

He drove around for about half an hour, scanning the face of everyone he passed, trying to find his best friend. He knew why Adam hadn't come to school. If the biggest, darkest secret in Eli's past was wandering around Degrassi, he wouldn't want to be there either. Of course, for him, that wasn't really possible...

Eli tried to shake the thought of Julia from his head. She'd been sneaking her way into his mind a lot lately. It seemed as though everything reminded him of her. Her favourite foods, her favourite books, her favourite songs... it had all been showing up lately, even more so than before. The other day, he'd even thought he'd heard her laugh...

He shook his head again, trying to get his thoughts back to the present moment. In the split second that he wasn't paying attention, a pedestrian stepped out onto the street without Eli noticing. He looked up again and had to swerve, and the girl was so surprised, she screamed and fell back onto the sidewalk. As he watched her fall, Eli thought he'd hit her, and immediately parked the car and got out. He ran around to make sure the girl was okay. Her back was to him, and all he saw was tanned skin and long, straight, shiny black hair. His heart stopped.

Julia?

The girl turned around and gave Eli the most horrifyingly evil glare he'd seen since he last watched the Exorcist.

Not Julia.

"You?" the girl screeched "Of course it's you. Of all people. Of course the creepy-ass emo kid who drives a god damned HEARSE would be the one to run me down on the street. Honestly, don't you have a therapy session to get to or something?"

"...What? Do I know you?" Eli asked

"Bridget Delgado. You're friends with Gracie. I've done my research, Creepo. I know all about you. And about your girlfriend, who seriously needs to keep her slutty little hands off of what's mine."

Eli was aware that his mouth was gaping open, but there wasn't really anything he could do about it. He'd dealt with bullies before, but they were always guy bullies. Guy bullies fight with their fists, which Eli could relate to and deal with. Girl bullies fight with their words, which a lot of the time, make a much bigger impact.

Eli took a step closer so he was face-to-face with Bridget.

"First of all, his name is Adam. Second, my name is Eli. My girlfriend's name is Clare, and if you ever call any of us anything else again, you'll have to deal with me."

"Ooh, empty threats from the emo midget! I'm shaking in my Louboutins! What are you going to do, hit a girl? I'm pretty sure Saint Clare wouldn't approve of that. Speaking of her, why don't you get back into your death cab and find your cutie, emo boy. I'm going to go look for mine."

Eli breathed deeply, thought of Clare, and kept his fists by his sides. It wasn't worth it. Even if she had used "Death Cab" and "emo" in the same sentence. Then, he realised what she'd said.

"Dahlia's missing too?"

"What do you mean, too?"

"I was just out looking for Adam."

"...They're not together." Bridget said, looking over her shoulder. She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than Eli.

Eli knew that Adam cared about Dahlia a lot. And anyone Adam cared about needed to be kept away from someone like Bridget. He tried to think of everything Adam had told him about Dahlia, and where she might have gone. She always wore white, she laughed too much, she loved A Walk to Remember and wading barefoot in cold water.

That was it.

"Oh, you know what? I think I saw Dahlia when I was looking for Adam in the Kensington Market."

Bridget stared at Eli. He stared right back. After a long minute, satisfied that she wasn't being lied to, Bridget turned abruptly and walked in the direction of the Market.

Eli scrambled back to his car and drove as fast as he could. He knew where Dahlia was. Now, he just prayed that Adam was with her.

Clare got to the end of the boardwalk – or the beginning, depending on how you looked at it – and sighed. Adam wasn't there. There was hardly anyone at the beach that day, besides a man and his baby daughter playing in the sand, a few runners with their dogs, a roller-blader, and a blonde girl in a white dress wading in the water.

Wait...

Clare squinted at the blonde girl and gasped, about to run over to Dahlia. Then she saw Dahlia wipe her eyes and stare out at the lake, and she knew she shouldn't bother her. She probably wanted to be alone. And if there were someone she wanted to see, it would be...

She squinted again as she saw a boy in baggy pants, a plaid shirt and a beanie walk up to Dahlia on her other side. The boy took Dahlia's hand, and even though she was so far away, Clare still felt like she was intruding on a very important moment for Dahlia and Adam. She turned away, and saw a big black hearse pull up. She ran over.

"Did you find them?" Eli asked as he got out of the car.

Clare smiled and pointed to the young couple sitting and talking in the sand.

"They found each other."