Well, this doesn't exactly follow in the show as well as hoped in my opinion, but here it goes. Clare has been spending the nights over at Eli's for a bit, but nothing too serious has happened between them. None of my fanfics are sexual in nature, but it might mention sex. I prefer to write in "K +", and sometimes "T" depending on the material matter that would cause that rating. I refuse to write anything worthy of an "M" rating.

Even though it's written in past tense, it doesn't mean that Clare stopped spending the night in this story. I didn't want to confuse anybody.

I don't own Degrassi or the song. I like them both, but I don't have them to my name. Ok?

Song: "Those Nights" by Skillet

Eli POV:

Clare had been spending the night over at my house for awhile now. It was the best thing ever. Even though we weren't having sex, it was still more than fine with me. I respect her abstinence pledge and I would never want to take advantage of her unless she was completely ready. Even just being with her never failed to satisfy me. All those nights belonged to us.

I remember one night in particular. Clare was over and it was one of the best nights ever.

"Hey, Eli, so what do you want to talk about tonight? Anything on your mind?" she said to me.

"Hmm… How are your parents doing?" I questioned her.

She sighed, and then came to say, "They're still not great, but I guess I'll have to admit that the divorce has actually started to help them out some. They're not arguing as much, but it still causes stress with them back and forth now. I can't even see them at the same time anymore. I just miss how things used to be."

"Yeah, well you know, I'm always here to get you through the hard times. You are welcome here anytime you want. I know you wouldn't want to go home to another fight."

"Exactly," she said. "Thanks, Eli. I know I can always depend on you for anything. I love spending my nights with you. I feel as if you're here to keep me… alive, almost."

"Anytime. Hey, do you want go to The Dot for a bit? Coffee on me. We can continue our conversation there. I'm kind of getting tired of being stuck in my room," I offered.

"Yeah, sure. It'd be nice to get some fresh air," she mentioned.

"Alright, let's go before they close for the night."

We went downstairs. I told Cece we'd back soon then grabbed my keys. Once we got outside to Morty, I went around and opened Clare's door. There was no reason why she should have to open the door herself. I went around to the other side and got inside myself. I started Morty up and we were on our way.

I ordered some coffees for us. We were there sitting across from each other in one of the booths. All I could do was stare into her eyes. Finally, she broke the silence.

"Thanks for bringing me here. You really didn't have to, you know."

"No problem, and I really wanted to. I love coming here. It just gets me away from all that's going on. Even though it's a few blocks away, it seems as if it's miles away," I said.

"I see what you're saying. I feel the same way. Coming here gets me through the days. My home isn't exactly how I want it to be, and it feels like a home away from home," she mentioned, agreeing with me.

"But, what about my house? Is it not home enough for your liking?" I said, teasing her. I just couldn't resist.

"Yeah, well, but…" she stammered.

I smirked. I loved seeing her nervous. It was pretty adorable. "I understand- you can't always visit my house whenever you want to. Your parents still don't exactly have a liking for me, but if you tell them you're going to a public place, like The Dot, they'll let you. No need to fret, Edwards," I explained, trying to help her out.

"Yes. That's it. Thanks. I just didn't know exactly how to explain myself there," she quickly mentioned, getting to the point and saving herself.

I looked down at my watch. It was already 10:00 and they were starting to tell some people to prepare to leave so they could close for the evening. I said to her, "Hey, it looks like we better get going back to my house. I think they're about to close."

She looked around and noticed that, too. "Alright, let's go. I'm finished with my coffee, anyway," she said to me.

We got out of the booth and headed towards the door, opening it for her. We went to Morty, where I helped her in also. We went back to my house and got in for the night.

Back in my room, we continued our conversation from the ride home. I could never get enough of just talking to her. It was amazing even when we would just talk almost pointless stuff.

The conversation was starting to actually die down. It was about 11:00 now, and usually we wouldn't go to bed until 1:00 or 2:00, so we still had some time to kill.

"Hey, do you want to watch some TV and just wind down?" I offered to her.

"Why not?" she said to me.

I grabbed the TV remote. With my room being clean now, you could even see the TV. I turned it on, and then turned off the lights. We were still able to see each other because the TV lit the room still.

Clare couldn't choose just one show. She wanted to watch anything and everything. She eventually settled on a show, even though I had no idea what it was, nor any interest in it. It didn't matter though. She was happy and satisfied, and that's all I could ever want.

I looked back at the clock. It was about 12:30 now. I was starting to get bored, and I still wanted to talk to her a bit before we went to bed. "Hey, Clare. It's getting late, why don't we start preparing for bed?"

"Alright. I'm starting to get bored of this anyways.

I turned off the TV and turned on the radio. We both slept better with the radio on. It seemed to bring a sense of calmness.

After she got back from changing into her pajamas, we crawled into my bed.

"Clare, before we go to sleep, I need to talk to you seriously."

"Sure. What's up?" she asked calmly.

"I just want to thank you for everything. I love having you over. These nights have been some of the best. You're welcome anytime. You've helped me so much. We've faced everything together and we make such a great team. Our conversations, laughter, staying up late, and plainly being with each other has just helped so much. You keep me alive and keep me from being negative or mad. These nights get me by. All the hard times never seem to continue. These nights truly belong to us," I told her. I felt like I was spilling out my heart, but it had to be done.

I cautiously looked up at her. Even in the darkness, I could see her blush and smile.

"You're welcome. I can say the same thing for you, too," she said sweetly.

"That's great. Alright I think I'm going to get some sleep now. You probably should, too."

"Yeah, definitely," she replied.

"Goodnight, Clare."

"Night, Eli. Sweet dreams."

With that, she pecked me on the lips. I laid back down and closed my eyes. I could never get enough of those nights. The ones that saved me, kept me alive, and helped me out.

I made this one a bit longer. I think the song allowed me to have more stuff to write, I guess. So. Yeah. Again, I hope you listened to the song. I did leave out a couple lines of the song, because it just wouldn't fit in well, and I didn't want to ruin it to try to fit the song absolutely perfectly. If I don't say so myself, I was pretty happy with this one. Don't forget to review, please. The button is just right there. Anything is appreciated. I'll try to update soon, OK?