I know it's been a while, but I got really busy. Finals are starting up. Hopefully you guys can forgive me :) I know this is really long. But it's finally the first day of school! YAY!

John and Lilly moved in on a Thursday, and school began that Monday. My mom drove Lilly and I to school, to this day, I still find that the most awkward car drive I've ever been on. My mom was trying to make small talk, which she always sucked at. I was still mad at her, and Lilly was trying to be nice to my mom, and joining in on the small talk, which she seemed bad at too. So it was full of awkwardness.

"Have a nice day, girls," my mother said with a smile, when it was finally time to get out of the car. I rolled my eyes after she spoke. I was relieved to be free of the awkwardness.

"Thanks, you too," Lilly said shyly and awkwardly. We walked towards the school.

"Clare!" I heard from behind me. I turned around and saw Alli. She ran up to me, and we hugged. Yes, we saw each other two days earlier, but we hadn't seen each other in school since June, and we were excited.

"What's your first class?" I asked after we separated.

"Math. You?"

"Physics," I answered. I frowned, and she made a face.

"Boo! Anyways, I better get going. I have to meet up with some other people. See you at lunch?" she said.

"I hope so," I replied with a smile.

"Good," she said, giving me another hug, then walking away. I made my way to my locker. As I turned the dial on my lock, Eli walked over to his locker, only three down from mine, and began putting in his combo. I finished putting in my own combo, and opened my locker. I turned my attention back at Eli, and allowed myself to look at him more closely. The ache began again as I watched him. He took binders from his backpack and placed them into his locker. He seemed different some how. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I could tell something about him had changed, drastically. It was almost as if I was looking at some one else.

He closed his locker, and noticed me there, whether or not he knew that I was staring at him, I didn't know.

"Hey, Clare," he said, with a half smile, which I returned. Again, I could tell something was different, but I couldn't tell what it was. He seemed… happy.

"Hi, Eli," I replied.

"How was your summer?" he asked casually, as if everything between us had never happened, like we were just mutual acquaintances. I hid half of myself behind my locker door, as if trying to avoid him.

"It was fine, I guess. My mom's engaged."

"I'm sorry," he said, sincerely, "I know how hard that must be for you." I shrugged.

"How about you? How was your summer? You seem good."

"I am good," he said, with a smile. "I've been getting help, seeing a therapist regularly."

"That's good." I could tell that it was helping. He seemed so carefree and relaxed. Serenity was seeping out of his pores. The bell rang.

"I have to get to class," he said, "I'll see you around, Clare." He nudged me lightly in the arm as he walked past me. It wasn't until he walked away that I realized how much my chest was aching and that I was holding my breath. I took a few deep breaths, and began to walk to my first class. I stumbled on my first few steps. I was in shock. This was a new Eli that I just saw. An Eli that I only saw a few times. It was my favorite Eli. I knew that he was finally gonna be okay. I knew that he was doing just fine with out me. I knew that he would make it. This made me feel better. But what made me feel worse was the fact that he still made my chest ache.

Lilly

I walked up the stairs to my new school. Clare was already ditching me, not that I was surprised. I knew she was going to do that. She'd been avoiding me ever since I moved in. It wasn't much of a secret that she hated me. And at that point, I hadn't decided if it bothered me yet.

I stood at the bottom of the school's stoop. I looked up at the sign that read "Degrassi Community School," and let out a sigh. A new life, a new start, I thought to myself. It was exactly what I needed. No one, except Clare, knew me here. No one knew my past. No one knew where I came from. A blank slate, and I could write whatever I wanted on it.

I pulled my schedule from my purse, and looked at it. "Period 1: Public Speaking- Waltin, Charles Room 203" I bit my lip. I had no idea where to find that. I inhaled a deep breath out of frustration, and was about to release it in the form of a sigh, when I felt some one crash into me. I looked to my right to see I tall guy, maybe 5' 10'' with dark, short hair. He held a football in his hands.

"Sorry about that," he said, with smile, as he looked my up and down quickly. Then he walked away, tossing the football to his friend, as if he hadn't almost made me fall on the stairs. Another kid came up to me shortly after the first left. His hair was longer than the previous guy's and he was shorter. Not by much, though.

"Sorry about my brother, he can be an ass sometimes," he said.

"It's fine," I said.

"Are you new?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, I just moved here."

"Cool. I'm Adam," he said, holding has hand out for me to shake it.

"Lilly," I replied, shaking his hand.

"I gotta go, I'll see you around," he said, with a kind smile, "It was nice meeting you."

"You too," I responded, waving as he walked away and disappeared into the school.

Eli:

New school year: new Eli. I began going to see a therapist regularly, and really opened up. It was so great. I felt so free. There was nothing that bothered me anymore. I wasn't this happy, for this long, since before Julia. It was such an uplifting feeling. I'm not saying I'm over Clare, but I learned over the summer that I'm able to live without her, and slowly I'm getting over her… I think. I've also gotten really good about my hoarding. Occasionally I will refuse to throw something out, but I've gotten increasingly better about it. My room cleaning has been tedious, just because I always hated cleaning, but I am working at making my room sparkling. It's a long slow process, but I'm determined to get it done.

Halfway through the summer, my parents were finally convinced that they could trust me again with a car. I got a small black car, it was no Morty, but it wasn't awful. It's kinda classy, but badass at the same time. Like I said, it was not Morty. I don't think any car could fit me like Morty, but this car was pretty good.

I closed the door to my car, after getting out of it. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, and began walking towards the school. I'll admit, I was a little nervous. The only reason I survived this summer was because I didn't see Clare or anyone else this summer, except Adam. What if I saw Clare, then relapsed or something? It may sound irrational, but if you think about it, it's a legitimate thing to be worried about. I mean, a lot of strange stuff has set me off before. As I walked towards the school, I walked past the couples making lovey reunions, and past the friends hugging in joy. The sound of chatter and giggling filled my ears as I open the front door of the school. I walked through the halls; there was no sight of Adam. I reached my locker, and began putting in my combination. I finished my combination, and opened my locker; it was a little jammed, so I had to pull it a bit. I looked inside my empty locker and I opened my backpack and began placing binders into my locker neatly. I was going to start this year organized, and I planned to finish it that way. As I closed my locker, I turned to begin walking to my class. Then I saw Clare, at her locker.

"Hey Clare," I said. I surprised I was able to keep my composure.

"Hi, Eli," she responded quietly. She tried to keep hidden behind the door of her locker. Once she spoke, my knees almost buckled under me. I hadn't realized how much I missed the sound of her soft voice, until now.

"How was your summer?" I asked, trying to make small talk. I tried to keep my relaxed state of mind. I slowed my breathing, trying to make my self seem as calm as possible. I hoped that I was being successful.

"It was fine, I guess. My mom's engaged," she told me. Her voice was lined with sadness and her face was flooded with pain.

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to comfort her, "I know how hard that must be for you." She shrugged. "How about you? How was your summer? You seem good," she said.

"I am good," I said, smiling. I was surprised that I haven't fallen to the ground yet. I've literally had my knees locked so that they wouldn't buckle. "I've been getting help, seeing a therapist regularly."

"That's good," she said. We heard the bell ring through the halls.

"I have to get to class. I'll see you around, Clare," I said, nudging her arm as I walked away lightly, just as a friendly gesture. I walked down the hall for a few seconds, and made a turn into another hallway. My class was right there, so I allowed myself to break. My chest was burning. I gripped a water fountain, and unlocked my knees. I almost fell over. I had to catch my breath and my heart rate was high. Adam walked past me in the halls. I grabbed his arm and pulled him towards me.

"Dude, are you okay?" Adam asked, "You look awful."

"I'm still in love with Clare," I said, breathlessly. It was as if I had an asthma attack.

"I thought you were getting over her?" he questioned.

"I know, but it's easy to get over someone when you don't see them. And I…" I paused for a slight second, "I just saw Clare."

"Sorry, man, that's rough," he said. I took a few more breaths, and finally began to recompose myself.

"Let's go to class," I said after a minute. We began walking to class, since we had first period together.

"How's your first day going so far?" I asked.

"Fine, I met a new girl, that's about it," he said.

"Is she cute?" I asked.

"I guess. She doesn't really seem like my type," he explained.

"What's your type?" I questioned.

"I don't know. She just seems like she is too…" he paused to try and find the right word to say, "I don't know. She just didn't seem like the girl to be a girlfriend, more of a friend. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I get it."

"You can have her, if you want," he told me.

"I think I'll pass. But thanks for the offer," I said with a chuckle. We reach the classroom and we take seats next to each other, his next to the window. "So, what is this girl's name?" I asked.

"Lilly." I shrugged, "Nice name," I commented.

"Yeah," he agreed. Adam perked up, and stared at the door. I turned to see what he was looking at. It was a girl with long brown hair that fell halfway down her back; she was kind of on the short side, from what I could tell. But who cares about height? I'm the shortest dude around.

"That's the girl," Adam whispered.

"Interesting," I commented. She was looking around the room awkwardly, trying to figure out which seat she could take.

"Lilly!" Adam called to her; she whipped her head towards us. Adam waved for her to come over to us. She began walking towards us, and when she reached us, Adam said, "You can sit with us," motioning to the two open seats in front of it. She sat in the on in front of Adam, likely because she knew Adam, and not me.

"I'm Eli," I said.

"Lilly. Nice to meet you," she said. Her voice was calm and kind.

"So, why did you move here?" Adam asks, trying his best to be friendly, but he wasn't very good at small talk.

"My dad got engaged, and his new fiancé lives here and I didn't want to make her and her daughter move, so I did," she explained.

"Does you step-sister go to Degrassi?" I asked, just out of curiosity. She hesitated. "No. She is coming up next year as a freshman."

"Well," I said, "Welcome to Degrassi." She smiled. "Thanks." The teacher went up to the front of the room. He wrote his name on the white board in large letters. "Mr. Waltin"

"Welcome to public speaking," he said. As the teacher spoke about the class, I could already tell this was going to be a long semester.

Well, let me know what you think. I hope you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it. Review, please? I asked nicely. :)

Thanks for reading!