Soooo thank you guys for reading and especially for the reviews! I hope I'll get some more because I have to admit; it's really great to get some of them! I'll be busy with the promotion of my second book, which will be published this summer in Holland and Belgium (I'M SO HAPPY!), so i'm not sure If I'll be able to upload that often. Once a week I guess? I don't know yet. What I do know, is that I have got this story planned out and it's not even close to the end yet, so yeah, enjoy!

Oh and, since my English isn't perfect (I'm learning though!), I'll already apologize for any grammatical errors and stuff.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Degrassi!

Chapter 2 – Unexpected.

Clare waited at Eli's locker after school. This was one of those long days, since she barely slept all night. All she did was twisting and turning in her bed, fighting the desire to run over to Eli's house to spend the night in his arms. She eventually cried herself to sleep, with the thought of him leaving the country the next day haunting her in her dreams.

As she woke up, she still tasted his lips on her mouth as she remembered the loving kiss they shared as he dropped her off at her house the day before. It was a kiss they had never shared before. Both of their faces were wet of their running tears, their lips moving out of desperateness, missing each other already. It felt as if it was their last kiss, like all their love was pushed into it.

She hasn't got to see him all day at school, so she assumed he skipped all his classes. Adam though, was certain that he did see Eli the first period, standing in front of the principal's office. It would make sense, he could've been there to withdraw from Degrassi, Clare thought. She also figured that getting your school principal's approval to leave school that very day, wasn't an easy job. Mr. Simpson was a good guy, but also a realistic one, and a plan to leave school without a valid reason wasn't a thing he would be okay with. Clare felt her heart beat hopefully when she heard footsteps making their way towards her. It wasn't the guy she hoped for, but still someone she could definitely use by her side at that moment.

"Hey Clare, still looking for Eli?" Adam asked as he leaned against the locker next to Eli's.

"Hmm." Clare nodded her head as she looked over Adam's shoulder, trying to keep her hopes up by expecting Eli to show up at any moment.

"He has been acting different lately. Something is going on with the dude. I can't be de only one who've been noticing it, right? Clare, do you know what's going on?" Adam asked, his voice influenced by suspicion. Clare let her head drop, thinking and figuring out if Adam should know the truth. Eli has been like a brother to him for a few years now, so he certainly deserved to know. But would it be for the best? But the fair person she was, Clare decided to give Adam the information he needed to know.

"You're right, Adam. Eli's parents are being threatened, and to protect their son, they are sending him to his uncle in London tonight," Clare told Adam, her voice cracking as she spoke out the word 'London'. Every time the name of the city escaped her lips, a piece of Clare's heart was being ripped apart. The realization of the fact that her true love was leaving the continent, was hard for Clare to take. She just tried to suppress her feelings for the wellbeing of her boyfriend, which was way more important right now.

"What?!" Adam blurted out, his eyes growing big, "For how long?"

"A few months… until he's out of danger."

"Oh," Adam exhaled. Clare could hear the disappointment and confusion in his voice. Clare and Adam stood there in silence for a moment, both not knowing what to say or what to do.

"Morty is still standing here, so he hasn't left yet," Adam concluded, pointing at the black hearse standing at the parking lot in front of the school building.

"Where could he be? School has been over for thirty minutes now," Clare asked softly, staring at her watch. She tiptoed to look over Adam's shoulders once more. Her impatience started to grow with every second that passed by. As they heard footsteps coming down their way, both heads of Adam and Clare shot up. It was him. It was Eli. He threw them a subtle smile as he saw them. He expected them to wait for him at his locker, especially Clare. By the look on Adam's face, Eli could tell he already knew about his sudden departure and that he wasn't very pleased about it – obviously.

"Eli, Clare told me you're going. Why haven't you told me already, man?" Adam asked both frustrated as worried.

"I know, I'm sorry," Eli said, sounding a bit guilty. He should've told his best friend about it already, but telling Clare was already hard enough. He was certain that he couldn't go through that for a second time. He really didn't know how to handle the whole situation of him leaving, not to mention the situation of his family being in danger because of Bullfrog's dealing. All he could do was postpone the moment he had to tell his two best friends that he was leaving for a long time, not knowing what his life would look like from that moment on. He knew he has been acting distant since Monday, and he felt totally stupid about that, but he was too preoccupied about the mess in his life his father caused, plus the fact that he wasn't able to speak or laugh with his friends, knowing he would have to leave them. "I know, it must've come as a surprise," he mumbled eventually.

"The surprise sucks. Hard." Adam stated, "I can't believe you're leaving the continent. How long will you be gone and what did you tell Mr. Simpson? No way the man would approve!"

Clare grabbed Eli's hand, and squeezed it gently to show her support.

"I don't know how long I'll be gone. I can't even realize I will be gone. I told Mr. Simpson I'm attending home education starting tomorrow because of my mother's 'sick condition'" He explained, forming air quotes as he mentioned the fake sickness of his mother. Clare and Adam both knew Eli could be an excellent actor, so being a convincing liar wasn't that big of a deal to him.

"And he was buying that?" Adam asked unbelievingly, his voice raised a few octaves. Eli nodded and plastered a small grin on his face. Clare sensed this smile was forced though, because all she could see in his eyes was pure sadness.

"Yep, my man, he did. I wished he didn't, though. I really don't want to go and leave everything behind," Eli said, his voice turning more upset. He snatched his gaze of his two best friends and looked down at his shoes.

"You'll come back right? You won't lose us, Eli, you know that. No matter where you are, you'll have us," Adam reassured, while pulling his best friend into a short hug.

"All that matters to us is that you're save," Clare stated. Adam nodded as he agreed with Clare's words.

Eli sighed. He really didn't care that much about his safety, all he cared about were his friends and his life as a senior in Degrassi, and everything was about to change. But he also knew that staying here would not only be dangerous for him, but also for the people he cared most about. The people who were frightening his family formed a serious threat. He'd seen the look on the faces of the two armed guys as they aggressively made their way into their house on Monday. Those threatening looks weren't faked or bluffed, those were real. And if things weren't going as they pleased, they would use their guns to make their message clear. And to reach Bullfrog, to make him do what they were expecting him to do, they would use his son as a motivation to complete his mission. The fact that his parents were sending him to London, made Eli consider the option that his dad may not be able to satisfy the armed guys by doing what they demanded him to do – whatever that was. He felt worried and angry at the same time. How was he supposed to feel about his parents? He was disappointed as the thought he had his entire life of his father as a fair, strong man turned out to be a lie. But at the same time, he felt all his worries eating him alive as he thought of the terrible things his parents would have to go through from now on. Eli was being pulled out of his worries as a black car pulled up in front of the school; it was the car that belonged to Mrs. Torres. Adam inhaled deeply, knowing that this was possibly the last time he would see his best friend before his departure.

"I have to go," Adam said, his voice sounding husky. Clare noticed the hard time Adam was having. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she was affected by the strong connection between the two brother-like persons who happened to be her two best friends.

She then saw the two guys giving each other a meaningful hug, patting each other's backs.

"Good luck Goldsworthy. Please, be safe as long as you can. Don't get yourself in any more problems, just… be careful... and, you know, don't do crazy stuff… If you do, just call me or Clare. Okay I'll stop now before I'm starting to sound like your mom…" Adam muttered. Eli chuckled softly at the struggle Adam was having in finding the right words.

"I'll be fine, Torres," Eli replied.

"You'd better be," Adam warned as he made his way to Degrassi's exit. They exchanged one more look before Adam disappeared out of sight. Eli sighed as he turned around to face the person he was going to miss the most.

"I wish I could just take you with me," he muttered to the skin in the crook of her neck as they embraced each other tightly.

"I wish you weren't in this shitty situation at all," Clare whispered in his ear. She truly wished Eli was out of danger, because he didn't deserve to be in it. He had gone through enough already, and the fact that he had to flee because of a reason he wasn't responsible of, made Clare feel sick of anger.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, not wanting Clare to be pulled into his problems. He knew he was causing her pain by leaving, but he really didn't have a choice. Clare tilted her head up a little so she was facing him now.

"Don't be. You can't help the trouble your father caused. None of this is your fault, okay?" Clare said firmly. She really didn't want him to feel any responsibility for anything that was happening to him right now. He nodded slowly as a response before bringing her closer to his body and holding her tighter. He planted a kiss on top of her head. The two of them stood there in an absolute silence, enjoying the feeling of them being so close together.

"I'll definitely miss this when you'll be gone," Clare stated as she caressed his back with her hands.

"I really don't know what to do without any of you. How am I going to get through my time in London?" he asked hopelessly. Clare tried to find an answer, but she couldn't come up with anything.

"Try to comfort yourself with the thought that you'll be back someday and that we'll be waiting for you 'till then," she said finally. Eli pulled out of their hug so he could look Clare right in her eyes.

"You're sure about that? You are willing to wait for me for such a long time? I don't even know how long I'll be gone," he asked. Eli was afraid that Clare would let go of their relationship because she wouldn't be able to see him for a long period of time. History has proven that long-distance relationships are hard to contain. Were they an exception? If it concerned Eli, he would wait for Clare, even if it would take forever. But how was she facing the future of their relationship?

"Absolutely, 100 percent sure. Eli, I love you so much, I'll wait for you. No matter how long it will take," Clare replied, her words contained nothing less than the truth. As Eli saw the certain look in her eyes, he felt a sudden need to dive for her lips. He cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips against hers. They both got lost in their kiss, they lost track of time and track of reality. Eli kissed his girlfriend with all the passion he possessed, grateful for having a girl like Clare as his girlfriend. As they separated to breathe some air, they rested their foreheads against each other's.

"I love you, Eli Goldworthy," Clare breathed out, placing her hands on his, which were still resting on her face. Eli couldn't help the grin that was creeping upon his face.

"I love you too, Clare Edwards."

That was it guys, chapter 2. Chapter 3 is already in the making and I promise it'll be better than this one. I really don't mind reviews at all - in fact; I love them (good or bad)! So if you have the time, review if you can ;) ooooh I have to say I love Eclare 2.0 and I was seriously jumping out of joy when they kissed at the beginning of this season. Let's just hope more and more Eclare moments will take place in the future episodes!

x Naomi!