Disclaimer: Don't own Degrassi. 'Nuff said.
Author's Note: Wow, this has been a ridiculously long wait, hasn't it? My apologies. I've just been really busy with school.
X
Sand Castles
Frustrations
X
The drive home was silent.
Shortly after dropping Clare off, it started to rain. As he stared out the window, he could hear the windshield wipers moving, and if he listened closely enough, he could faintly make out the music emitting from the radio. At long last, Bullfrog pulled into their driveway and cut the engine, but didn't get out right away. Instead he sat with his hands still on the wheel, eyes fixed on the dashboard and brow furrowed in concentration.
"So are you going to tell me what's going on or what?" He asked after a few minutes, shattering the silence between them.
Eli sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair.
"I can't." He said. "She swore me to secrecy."
Bullfrog shot him a look. "Eli -"
"Listen, she doesn't want anyone to know and I'm respecting her wishes." Eli snapped, cutting him off.
"Is she in some kind of trouble?" Bullfrog asked, concern etched across his face.
Eli nodded slowly.
"Yeah… but she doesn't want anyone to know." He said, even though he knew perfectly well that eventually, Clare wouldn't be able to hide her secret anymore.
"It's not anything… illegal, right?" Bullfrog asked slowly.
"What? No!" Eli cried, as if it was the most absurd thing he'd ever heard.
Bullfrog let out an exasperated sigh.
"Just… don't get too in over your head." He said, unbuckling his seatbelt. "I don't know what kind of mess she's dragged you into -"
"Dad, it's not like that."
"Just… be careful, Eli."
With that, he got out of the car and made his way into the house. Eli sat still for a moment, staring at his lap and listening to the raindrops pelting against the windows, before following suit.
oOo
Clare was in the middle of taking off her shoes when her mother's sharp voice rang out.
"Where have you been, young lady? It's almost dinner!"
"At school. I stayed behind to work on a project." Clare lied, keeping her eyes on the floor as she took off her jacket and hung it up.
"Oh…" Helen's expression softened somewhat. "Well, next time, could you at least call me first and let me know? I was worried sick!"
"Okay." Clare mumbled, before brushing past her and heading up to her room.
Once inside, she closed the door and took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. Eli knew. Besides Jake, he was the only one who knew about her situation, and he wanted to help her. Guilt coiled in the pit of her stomach and she walked over to her bed and sat down, drawing her knees to her chest and squeezing her eyes shut. She had tried so hard to forget everything that had happened between them; convinced herself that she and Eli were better off without each other, but now it seemed like she needed him more than ever, and she felt horrible for it. She had abandoned him when he needed her most, and yet despite that, he wanted to help her? It didn't make any sense. She didn't deserve his help, not after what she'd done.
Her reverie was quickly broken when she heard a thud from Jake's room, on the other side of the wall, followed by a giggle. A loud, female giggle. Bile rose in the back of her throat when she realized that Jake had a girl over, and she swallowed hard to keep the contents of her stomach down. Against her better judgement, she got up and made her way out into the hallway, before knocking on his door.
After a few seconds, Jake answered, his face flushed and his hair and clothes dishevelled.
"Oh… hey. When did you get home?" He asked nervously.
"About ten minutes ago. Why? Am I interrupting something?" Clare asked coldly.
As if on cue, a flustered Jenna Middleton poked her head out from behind Jake, and paled instantly when she spotted Clare.
"Jake, what's going… oh… hey Clare…"
Clare let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Really, Jake? Jenna? Of all people?" She snapped.
"We're just… friends…" Jake said.
"Yeah. I'm sure you are." Clare muttered.
She glared at Jenna momentarily before turning on her heel and heading back into her room, slamming the door for good measure. Anger and hurt pumped through her veins as she paced around her room, tears blurring her vision. Unable to hold them back any longer, she collapsed on her bed and screamed into her pillow, letting all of her frustrations out.
.
.
.
"You haven't told anyone, have you?"
Jake stood in the doorway of her room, looking nervous and even a little distraught. Clare spared a glance at him before turning her attention back to her homework, biting her tongue to keep from saying something she'd end up regretting. She heard Jake sigh and close the door before shuffling further into the room and sitting on the edge of her bed. Clare gripped her pencil tightly, feeling the lead tip snap under pressure, before swivelling around to face him.
"I don't recall giving you permission to sit there." She said coldly.
"Clare, come on… you didn't seem to mind two days ago." Jake said with a scoff.
Clare narrowed her eyes. "Are you kidding me?"
"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just… I don't know how to deal with this." Jake said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"And somehow I do?" Clare snapped.
"Well, you are a girl. Isn't it supposed to be in your nature or whatever?"
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jake narrowly managed to dodge a pencil aimed straight at his face, and shot her an incredulous look.
"Are you trying to kill me?" He cried.
"Get out." Clare spat.
"Clare, for fuck's sake, just calm down -"
"I SAID GET OUT!" Clare yelled, groping around for something else to throw.
"Okay, okay! I'm going!" Jake cried, holding up his hands in defeat as he stood up and made his way out of her room.
As soon as the door was closed, Clare picked up her cell phone and hurled it across the room with a shriek.
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Okay, so this is kind of a filler chapter more than anything else, hence the shortness. Also, I managed to work in a few things from the actual episodes.
I know it's short and not a lot happened, but I hope you guys enjoyed.
Please REVIEW and let me know what you think!