As promised, second update of the day. Enjoy.

After Eli left, Clare decided to make herself a big breakfast to celebrate her reclaimed friendship and her newfound lease on life. Clare had just finished frying some bacon, and was mixing up batter for pancakes, when she heard Jake coming down the stairs.

"You made me bacon?" Jake smiled at her.

"Hell no, I made myself bacon." Clare said, shocking Jake with her language.

"Okay, what's wrong? And why are you depriving me of bacon?" Jake asked.

"Are you seriously asking me what's wrong?" Clare responded and began pouring her pancake batter so she could avoid meeting Jake's gaze.

"Yes?"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Clare was getting furious, this was not how she planned on spending her afternoon. "Do you remember last night? You telling me to stop being clingy and then you went around hitting on other girls all night. Ring any bells?"

"Oh, um… you remember that?" Jake mumbled.

"Why would I not remember my boyfriend cheating on me?" Clare asked, livid at this point.

"You were drunk. I don't know. I was hoping you wouldn't remember." Jake knew he was caught. No wonder she was withholding bacon.

"How did you know I was drunk? I didn't mean to be. It just kind of happened. You're not going to tell our parents, are you?" Clare was now scared that Jake might spill the beans and all of Eli's efforts to keep her out of trouble would have been in vain.

"Drew told me he gave you a drink, I just assumed. No, I won't tell them. Then they'll know I got drunk too." Jake promised. He wasn't going to incriminate himself if he didn't have to.

"So, Drew did this on purpose? I should have known." Clare said, feeling betrayed. "I can't believe you let him do that. You probably encouraged it, didn't you? Get annoying, clingy old Clare off your back for a while. God forbid you would want to spend some time with your girlfriend. I don't get it. What do other girls have to offer that I don't have? Is it because I won't have sex with you? Well, I was considering it, but not now! Not after what you did last night!"

"I didn't do anything, Clare. Unless I'm not allowed to even talk to girls now," Jake defended himself.

"Don't give me that. Last time I saw you, you were on the couch with your arm around some other girl. Looked like you were trying to get her to kiss you. I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound like nothing to me. And who knows what you did after I left!"

Clare was getting worked up again. She was desperately trying to will herself to not cry. She kept thinking about Eli. About how Eli had been so nice and caring to her last night and her own boyfriend was probably too busy with other girls to even notice that she had left the party.

Eli. Clare wished Eli were here. He would know what to say right now to make her feel better. All Jake did was stand there dumbfounded. How did Clare ever think that she and Jake were forever? How dirty she would be feeling right now, if she had gone through with it; if she had actually slept with Jake. That was one plus in this whole ordeal. She didn't sleep with Jake.

Clare had decided last night that she was through with Jake and his lies. She wanted to move on, but that was going to be extremely difficult with them sharing parents now; and a bathroom. They would have to see each other every day, whether they liked it or not. Clare was beginning to wonder why she ever thought that Jake was worth all the hassle of lying to her mom and sneaking around. She was fondly picturing the simpler days when Eli wasn't even supposed to be in her house when her parents were out. That's how high school relationships were supposed to be. You weren't supposed to live with your boyfriend in high school. How was she going to break up with Jake and still live here? They would have these run-ins over breakfast from now on.

She had to do it, though. She couldn't wait any longer.

"You know what, Jake?" Clare started. "We're done here." No need for fancy words. Jake probably wouldn't understand them anyway.

Jake shrugged his shoulders, "You mean this talk or our relationship?"

"Us. This. Our Relationship. You and me, we're through. I can't take it any longer!" Clare yelled.

"Okay," Jake stole a piece of bacon and began to walk away.

"Okay? That's it? No fighting?" Clare asked, a little shocked that Jake didn't seem to care that she had just broken up with him. He was acting like she asked if he wanted a slice of pie.

"What else do you want me to say, Clare?" Jake asked.

"You could at least pretend to be a little upset. I really didn't ever mean anything to you, did I?" Clare was feeling hurt.

"You did. You were fun for a while, but then it got so tiring. When I saw you with Eli last night I figured it was over, so I moved on." Jake said, stealing another piece of bacon. If she was going to make him stay here and chat he was at least going to get something out of it.

"You saw me and Eli together last night?" Clare asked timidly.

"Yeah, it's pretty clear you are still hung up on him. I bet he loved every second of you falling all over him."

"Eli is not like that. Eli is a gentleman. Unlike some guys I know." Clare glared at Jake, "And what do you mean, you moved on?"

"I moved on. Let's just leave it at that. Are we finished here?" Jake's hangover was kicking in. All he wanted to do right now was chug his glass of water and go back to bed.

"No, we're not finished. We will never be finished. We still have to live together. How are we going to do that now?" Clare demanded to know.

"I should have listened to my father!" Jake groaned. "Listen, Clare, we have to pretend that nothing has happened. Hate me all you want in private, but if you do it in front of our parents they will know something is up. Do you want to explain that we lied to them? That we went behind their backs and did the one thing that they told us not to do? Because I really don't. My father may be cool about most things, but he doesn't take well to lying. I really don't want to have to deal with that lecture again."

Clare didn't know what to say. Jake did have a point. Her mom and Glen had been so happy lately to see Clare and Jake getting along so well. If only they had know the real reason for their children's change of hearts… They would not be so happy.

Clare didn't want to disappoint her mother again. She would have to try and be nice to Jake still. To treat him as if he were her brother.

"I don't want my mother to know…" was all Clare said.

"Good, so it's all settled then. Nice talk, sis." Jake grabbed a pancake out of the pan and a few more strips of bacon. "Thanks for the breakfast," he added and went back up to his Clare-free, drama-free bedroom.

Helen and Glen were in an exceptionally good mood when they arrived home later that evening. Helen was chatting excitedly about where they could hang their new wall sconces, when Clare came down to greet them.

"Hi mom. Glen. It looks like you had a successful day of antique shopping," Clare tried to act cheery.

"Hello sweetheart. Yes, we did. It was wonderful. Is Jake home? Glen needs some help unloading the truck." Helen said, unknowingly bringing up the one person Clare wished to avoid.

"He's up in his room, I think. He said something about not feeling well." Clare thought her first act as Jake's amazing sister would be to save him and his hangover from manual labor.

"Okay, that's fine. It can wait until tomorrow I suppose," Helen said as she held her new sconces up to different places on various walls trying to decide where they looked best. "How are you feeling? Not sick too, are you? That pesky migraine is gone, right?"

"Yes mom. I'm feeling fine, thanks." Clare felt awkward talking to her mother like nothing has happened after everything that happened last night and this afternoon.

"How was the party? You two got in mighty late." Helen said, mock accusingly.

"It was… fine. Uneventful. I just hung out with Adam most of the night. And…" Clare didn't know where she was going with this next part, but she felt like it was one think she could tell her mother that wouldn't be a lie. "…Eli was there."

"That's nice, honey, did you talk to him?" Helen asked.

"Yes, mom, I did."

"That's good. You two were so close. It's a shame things happened like they did. He is a nice boy. No matter how hard you tried to sway your father and my opinions otherwise." Helen said in a some-what scolding manner.

"He is nice. Very nice." Clare's face grew hot at the memory of how horribly she treated Eli when she paraded him around to her parents as some kind of monster. "Mom?" Clare asked.

"Yes darling?"

"I think we are going to try and be friends again. Do you think that would be alright?"

"Clare, I want you to be happy, and I trust you to make adult decisions about who you choose to keep as your friends. As long as that group of people that you surround yourself with is nice to you, and treats you respectfully, and supports your choices, then you have my permission. As for Eli specifically, I think it might do you well to have his support again. You haven't been the same since that friendship ended." Helen spoke from her heart.

Clare felt tears welling up in her eyes. Never had she thought that her mom could be so understanding. Maybe Glen was a good influence on her mother after all. She was certainly more easy-going since they have been together. Clare couldn't refrain herself; she leapt forward and gave her mom a big hug.

"Thanks mom. It means so much to have your support. I am sorry about how mean I have been in the past few months. I am going to work on getting back to the daughter you knew before. And I really am happy for you and Glen. I'm sorry I didn't see it before, but he is good for you. I love you, mom." Clare was on the verge of tears.

"Oh, Clare, I love you too! I knew you would come back to me eventually. All I ask is that you try from now on. And, if you have any problems, that you come to me and we can try and work it out." Helen was so proud of her daughter. She couldn't help but wonder what had caused her change of heart, but at this moment she honestly didn't care as long as Clare was happy and respectful again.