Not Good Enough For Truth in Cliche: Chapter 4

FINAL CHAPTER HOPE YOU LIKE! GO FORTH AND REVIEW

Clare:

I was walking down the street, trying not to think about anything in particular when I heard a voice call my name. I had to be mistaken, there was no way Eli could be calling for me. I ignored it and kept walking. The voice called again, with more urgency. I turned to the sound and sure enough it was Eli running to catch up to me, knocking into people in the process. It didn't make any sense. Our last conversation shouldn't have resulted in him chasing me down. I stood my ground and gathered my thoughts quickly.

"Eli, what's wrong?"

"Nothing... I just need a moment of your time..please...there's something I need to tell you," he said in a rushed, urgent tone.

I spotted a bench outside of a little shop and took a seat. Eli followed after. We were quiet for a while. He stared off into the street with his hands clasped. I watched him, confused by how important the information he thought vital really was. He licked his lips and turned back to me, looking me directly in the face.

He opened his mouth to speak and closed it. He sighed loudly and rubbed his hand against his jaw. "I don't know how else to say this other than just being blunt." It felt like he paused for a lifetime. "Clare, I really like you. And it's crazy because it's only been a day! That's weird isn't it? Am I freaking you out? I'm sorry if I am but honestly, I've never met anyone like you before. I know I don't know anything about you but still, it's like the moment I saw you something just clicked. I...I'm scared by it but also drawn to it. I don't know, I just can't put it into words."

I was speechless. Here I was thinking he hated me and it turned out to be the exact opposite. "Eli, I don't know what to say." His face dropped. "No! I don't mean it like that." I reached for his hands. "I really like you too. It shouldn't make any sense and yet it does." He put one hand on my cheek. I thought I would faint from his touch.

"I never saw this coming. I never thought I'd have a chance at something like this. With you, it's just easy to be me." His face grew serious.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

His mouth twisted to the side as he tried to get his thoughts together. "The thing is... I have a bit of a hard past when it comes to girls. My last girlfriend...she kind of broke me. I honestly worked hard at putting up a wall and then I met you and it fell so quickly, I didn't stand a chance."

"I would never hurt you Eli, I promise." I leaned in a kissed his forehead.

"This is all happening so fast."

"It's life. Sometimes it doesn't wait for you to get adjusted."

He looked up at me, his playful half-smile crept up on his lips. "I like that. That was deep."

"I have my moments," I said giggling.

He pulled my hand to his lips and kissed them. "So what now?"

"Surprise me."

Eli:

In a matter of minutes my whole life course just shifted. No longer was I afraid to say how I really felt. My guard was down and for the first time in a long time I was okay with it. Clare was my missing piece, I knew that from the time I saw her. I should have known that an attraction that strong could only mean it was the real thing. We sat on that bench and she mirrored how I felt for her. In that moment I was somewhere in the stars, flying high above earth. Her words still echoed in my head "I would never hurt you Eli... I promise". There was something in her eyes that spoke the truth even more than her words.

Our newfound relationship was unconventional to say the least. An Atheist and a Christian, a rocker and a pop lover, a pessimist and an optimist. We were opposites from every angle and yet it felt like we were more alike than anything. Where people had history with their significant other, we had one day.

"So what now?" I asked her.

"Surprise me" was all she had to say.

"Let's go for a drive," I said standing up. I stretched out my hand to her. She grabbed on.

"Where are we going to go?"

"Anywhere the road takes us."

We walked back to school and I unlocked Morty.

"Why does it not surprise me that this thing belongs to you," she said as we got in and buckled up.

"This thing happens to have a name, thank you very much," I said jokingly. "Clare meet Morty. He's happy to meet you."

"Charmed, I'm sure. So long as I'm not placed in the back, I'm honored to meet him."

I loved her humor. I put Morty into drive and pealed out of the parking lot. Clare sat quietly smiling to herself and looking out the open window. I turned onto the highway.

"How 'bout some music?" I offered.

"Sure," she said the wind rustling her short brown curls. "What's your favorite band?"

"The Dead Hand, without a doubt."

"Hmm, never heard of them... sorry."

"Blasphemy! They rock, here listen to this." I fiddled with my iPod and scrolled for my favorite track. It opened with a sick drum pattern and a face melting guitar riff.

Clare's head bobbed along to the beat. "Not exactly my style, but I see why you like it." Then she made my fall even harder for her by breaking out into a glorious air guitar. I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Thank you Toronto! Goodnight!" I said just in time with the song's ending. I loved how carefree I was with her.

We kept on driving down the open road when I thought of the perfect place to take her. I pulled off the road and drove to my favorite place. It was a secluded section of the woods. There were the remains of what could have been a church or some building. Some of the framework still remained after years of being neglected in this little nook of the forest. I put Morty into park and got out. Clare followed suit.

"Where are we?" she asked quisitively. She walked around touching the trees trunk and leaves. "It's beautiful."

"I'm not exactly sure to be honest. I've been coming here for a year or so. Whenever I need to think or a moment alone, I just come here. It's quiet you know?" I watched her walk around aimlessly.

"I can see the appeal. Right now, wanted quiet seems like such a great option."

This confused me. "What do you mean?"

She stopped in her tracks and turned to face me. "It's my parents. I think they're going to get a divorce. There's always this wierd tension between them and silence. I didn't know quiet could be so loud."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

She simply nodded and sighed. "Thanks."

I took a seat ontop of Morty's hood. "Care to join me?"

This made her smile which made me excited. Her face looked so warm whenever she smiled, it made you want to be a part of her happiness.

She hopped up onto the hood. "I'm really glad you came to Degrassi." She rested her head on my shoulder and I took her hand in mine.

"So am I. This day went nothing like I though it would. Here I thought I would hate the school and make zero friends...now look at me. Sitting here with the most perfect girl...but then again it's life right? Sometimes it doesn't wait for you to get adjusted," I said repeating her words from earlier back to her.

A small smile broke on her lips. I was drawn to them. I leaned in slowly, almost to test her reaction. She froze a little bit but soon leaned in, meeting me halfway. The second our lips met my heart almost cried out. Her lips were the softest thing ever. I craved her so much in that moment. It didn't matter if tomorrow we saw that we were not for one another. In that moment I was the happiest I had ever been and could ever hope to be.