Disclaimer: If Degrassi were mine, the seniors wouldn't be graduating and this would have actually happened.
Fiona Coyne sat on the couch in her living room next to her boyfriend. He was already reading the latest issue of The Goon that they had to go get that day, so she opened up her laptop to catch up on the world. She navigated the pages with mild interest, not really caring about anyone from Vanderbilt or the ski trip a bunch of them took last week. However, a link did catch her eye:
Holly J Sinclair was tagged in Jenna Middleton's album "Bhandari Birthday!"
"Since when is Holly J friends with Sav again?" Fi wondered out loud. Adam could only shrug, not really caring whom Holly J was friends with. Fiona clicked on the first picture, her curiosity getting the best of her. It was just a crowd shot showing the venue, the people in it not even being aware that a photo was being taken. That's how most of the pictures were, a few were posed and everyone had smiley, happy faces. Fi nodded to herself, approving of Holly J's fashion choice for the evening. It looked fun, almost as much fun as the Spring Gala at the Met. Clicking again to change the picture on the screen, she stopped and her mouth opened slightly, her eyes wide.
"SCANDAL!" she exclaimed out loud, making Adam jump.
"What?" he asked, annoyed that he couldn't just read his comic in peace. Fi turned the screen towards him and pointed.
"Why didn't you tell me they were together?" she accused. Adam studied the picture. Holly J and some guy, who appeared to be Eli from the red jacket and dark hair, were dancing together, her head on his shoulder and his face obscured by her hair. The caption read, "Those two seemed to be getting very close…" Adam looked back up at Fiona, shrugging a little.
"I didn't know. Eli's my friend, but it's not like we talk every day. Why didn't she tell you?" he reasoned. Adam didn't really care as long as Eli was happy. He had heard about the break up, both Eli and Clare calling him within five minutes of them hanging up with each other. He had to admit though, Holly J? That came out of nowhere. She looked really pretty in that picture though, so if Eli really was with her… well then, good job, Eli.
"That's a good question. I intend to find out," and Fiona was on her phone, tapping Holly J's name in her contact list. Adam just went back to his comic, more concerned with the drama on the page than the drama his girlfriend was currently trying to create.
"Fi! Hey! How are you?" Holly J's voice came from the small speaker, "Good timing, I just got home from work."
"Since when are you and Eli Goldsworthy a… a thing?" Fi spat out indignantly, unable to believe that her best friend would keep something this huge from her. Holly J pinched the bridge of her nose and sat on her bed, wondering how the hell Fi heard anything about them.
"We're not… why? Did someone say something or…?
"There's a picture of you two dancing on FaceRange. Holly J, my brother just passed away…" Those words felt like an ice pick through Holly J's heart. Eli was in no way supposed to be a replacement for Declan.
"That's not fair, Fiona. You know Declan will always be special to me, but he and I broke up over eight months ago. And Eli's been… helping me deal with everything. He understands."
"Helping you deal with everything? How?" Fi asked. Adam's phone buzzed in the pocket of his jeans and he fished it out, setting his comic on the coffee table. There was just no way he was going to get to read it until he went to bed tonight.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Hey, dude. Did you get the new issue of The Goon yet?" Eli's voice came from the other end. Adam looked over at Fi and turned away from her slightly, trying to keep his conversation private.
"Yeah, of course, but I haven't really had time to read it yet."
"That sucks. So, how's New York been?"
"It's pretty cool. We went up to the Hamptons for the Fourth of July. Some friends of Fi's mom were having a barbeque and there were fireworks. Americans really like showing how much they love their country by trying to blow up a small part of it. What have you been up to?"
"Not much. Working at the station a few times a week, hanging out with people sometimes. Went to Sav's birthday party, that was pretty good."
"Yeah… I saw some pictures on FaceRange. Fi's freaking out," Adam slowly said, trying to ease into the subject. He may not give a rat's ass who Eli chooses to be with, but if he didn't ask, Fi would kill him.
"Why is she freaking out?"
"You know, you and Holly J…" Eli rested his head on the back of the seat, tapping a finger on Morty's steering wheel. Fi turned at the mention of her friend's name and mouthed "Eli?" to Adam, who nodded in return.
"Me and Holly J what?" Eli played dumb. He didn't know what Adam knew about them, but he would rather only give just the bare bones of details. To be honest, Eli didn't even know what was going on anymore. He didn't care what people thought of them, but he knew that Holly J would.
"Well, I'm happy that you have someone there to support you. I was worried when you said that you couldn't come to New York with me," Fi explained, "Just be careful, Holly J. We don't need another rebound situation." Holly J fell silent at that. She really cared about Eli, but he and Clare just ended things. She didn't want to be a rebound. He had hesitated to kiss her, and maybe it was for a reason.
"She sat in your lap and you made out?" Adam repeated a little too loudly.
"Excuse me?" Fi said, more to Holly J than to Adam, "Withholding vital information!"
"Excuse you what? Was that Adam? Who is he talking to?" Holly J asked, slightly confused as to what was going on.
"Yeah," Eli responded to Adam's outburst.
"Are you cool with that?"
"Yeah. It was fun."
"So, are you guys together now? Have you even talked to her since?"
"No, I don't think so. Adam…"
"Please don't tell me Julia is messing you up again. Eli, you can't keep doing this to girls, getting close and then pushing them away." Adam didn't want another repeat of Clare. He really didn't need for Fi and himself to get stuck in the middle of this.
"Who's Julia?" Fiona asked, almost completely ignoring the phone pressed to her ear.
"Why are you asking about Julia? Fi, is Adam talking to Eli while you're talking to me?" Holly J said, getting annoyed that her private conversation with her best friend was no longer private.
"What? No. So, was the kiss good?" Fi tried to cover.
"Fiona Celestine Arabella Coyne, call me back when you can talk privately," and Holly J hung up. Fi frowned at the phone but just shrugged a little, setting it on the coffee table and turning her attention to Adam's conversation.
"No, dude, she knows about Julia and the whole Clare situation," Eli continued. He didn't want to rush things with Holly J and force her into anything. Until she gave other indication, he was treating the kiss as a fluke, just something that happened in the moment.
"A fairly attractive redhead knows about your past, hasn't run away, even kissed you and you enjoyed it. Why are you talking to me and not to her so you can figure this stuff out?"
"She's home from work," Fiona offered.
"I called you to talk about comic books, not get girl advice," Eli threw back. He knew that he needed to talk to Holly J and he honestly wasn't trying to avoid her, but she hadn't tried to get in contact with him either in the days following Sav's party.
"Fi says she's home now. Go talk to her," Adam commanded. Eli rolled his eyes and clicked the phone shut. He shook his head to himself, sighing. He had no excuses anymore.
"I hope she's not too pissed," and he turned the key in the ignition, bringing the hearse to life.
A/N: Best friends are so helpful sometimes, aren't they? Thanks to all my readers! I love watching the stats for this story and how so many people read it every Friday. You know what I love even more though? When my email goes "ding" and it's a new review! I wish you guys could see how ridiculously happy reviews make me. A special thanks to ToastMania, Rochelle, Steff, Lyssa, and Necklace890 for all being wonderful and amazing people, as well as loyal readers. See you next week!