Disclaimer: -insert song and dance here-
The room had that familiar red tint to it from the neon signs on the walls, the only other lights coming from the DJ booth. Small groups were gathered around the various pool tables and other sources of entertainment, a few faces standing out from the crowd. Spinner, Emma, and Peter were keeping an eye over everything while Sav did his best to put the DJ out of a job, requesting songs every few minutes.
"Go find us a place to sit and I'll get us some drinks," Eli said in her ear as he squeezed her hand. Holly J nodded and started walking, cutting through the groups of people until she made her way towards the back. There was an empty booth right in the corner and she immediately went for it, siding into it. She still didn't really know why everyone was here tonight. Yeah, Above the Dot was fun, but it was mostly Niners and some Grade 10's that hung out here on a Friday night. Still, if this was where the party was at, who was Holly J to question it.
"Coke okay?" Eli asked as he set down two tall glasses onto the table. The girl nodded and took a sip as he slid next to her in the booth, "So, why is everyone here?"
"No idea. Look, even Jay and Manny are here," she lamented as she observed the crowd.
"Who are Jay and Manny?" Eli asked, slightly confused.
"Manny and I were on Spirit Squad together when I first came to Degrassi. Jay's her boyfriend… fiancé… thing."
"Why don't you go over and say hi?"
"Oh no. Last time I saw her was at Spinner and Emma's wedding and she wasn't too thrilled. I think it's best if I just stay over here in the dark," Holly J said as she got comfortable in her seat, "Let's just let them have their night and we'll have ours, okay?" and she let her hand run up and down Eli's back. Manny didn't like Holly J by association. Heather was legendary at Degrassi for basically being the she-devil and Manny assumed that Holly J carried on the tradition. She was right for a little bit, but a lot had changed in a year. Eli looked back and smiled at her, leaning back and shifting her so that she laid back on his chest a bit, his arms wrapped around hers.
"Fine by me. Do you want to play a game?" he asked as he played with her fingers.
"Mmm, what kind of game?" she softly replied, placing a light kiss just under his jawline.
"Questions. Nothing is off limits." She considered his proposition and nodded slightly, "Okay, what's a fantasy you've had?"
"Oh, so those types of questions?" Holly J laughed. She was a little uncomfortable with playing this game out in the open, but she figured that if he asked anything really embarrassing, she could get him back with an equally embarrassing question. "Hmm, let's see. I've always wanted to have sex in a shower…"
"Shower sex. Duly noted for future reference," Eli teased. To be honest, Eli wasn't surprised. He didn't think Holly J would be the kind to have completely weird and out there fantasies, like extreme bondage or vampire fetishes. But then again, Clare… "Okay, it's your turn."
"Hmm…" she thought for a moment. Eli's taste in women seemed to vary a lot. She had seen pictures of Julia and she was a "non-conformist" like Eli, Clare had been very conservative and homey, and her own style was more fashion-forward. It was slightly confusing. "If you could sleep with one celebrity, who would it be?"
"Seriously, Sinclair?"
"Yes, everyone has one, so who's yours?" Eli sat back and considered her question for a moment.
"Catwoman."
"…Catwoman?"
"Yes, Catwoman. Not the Halle Berry one, the Michelle Pfeiffer tight black vinyl bodysuit one. That's hot." Holly J just blinked as she took in all that this could mean. Bodysuits? Claws?
"You're a nerd," she said plainly.
"You like it," and he leaned over, pressing his lips to hers, "If you only have to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?"
"Mushroom pizza, that's easy," she said without hesitation, "If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would you pick?" Eli knitted his eyebrows together and thought hard. Anywhere in the world? There were a lot of places he would like to visit, like New York, Paris, Tokyo, cities like that. He really liked living in Toronto though. This was his home.
"I guess London. I've never been there but it just seems cool. Extremely modern yet ancient. It still has a gothic feel to it; I don't really know how to explain it. But, yeah, London," he finished quietly. Holly J listened intently to his answer. She had always wanted to go to London herself.
"Maybe someday… we'll go," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She didn't want to say it too loudly, fearing that it would come across as a promise. She couldn't promise anything when it came to Eli. In two weeks, she was going to be gone. The thought was terrifying to her. She leaned forward and finished her drink, looking back at him, "Come on, let's go dance."
"Oh no, I don't dance."
"Bull. You danced with me at Sav's party. And you told me how you danced around your room. You, Eli Goldsworthy, dance."
"Yeah, I can dance when I want to…" Holly J rolled her eyes as he challenged her to finish the thought.
"You can leave your friends behind?" she sighed. Eli let a wide grin come across his face.
"Thank you for amusing me. Now I'll dance with you," he said as he stood from the booth, helping her out. He took her hand in his own, leading them out into the crowd of people dancing in front of the DJ booth. Turning her towards him, Eli's hands made a trail down to her waist, his bottom lip going between his teeth nervously.
"I'm not a very good dancer…" he said softly, trying his best to move to the music. Holly J moved her own hands to his hips, gently instructing him.
"You're doing fine," she said, closing the gap between them. Her hips brushed against his own, taking the job of her hands, both of them falling into a rhythm. Snaking her arms over his shoulders and around his neck, she brought her lips to the shell of his ear, "See? It's not that hard…"
Eli swallowed down the lump that had formed in his throat. Dancing wasn't so bad, especially when one had a more than capable teacher. He gripped her waist tighter, bringing her even closer to him and letting his head fall to the crook of her neck. Her smell wrapped itself around his mind and intoxicated him. The temperature between the two of them had raised considerably, the feel of Holly J's fingers in his hair driving him crazy. She had a power over him; no other girl had made him feel like this before.
"Excuse me, are you the Eli that Clare wouldn't shut up about?" an unfamiliar voice asked. Holly J's eyes few open wide, her whole body instantly stiffening.
"Umm, who wants to know?" Eli asked as casually as he could. He had no idea who this tan, brown-eyed brunette girl was and why she was talking to Clare about him.
"I'm Darcy, Clare's sister. I knew it was you, she's shown me so many pictures…" she started enthusiastically but her smile started to fade as Holly J turned around, "Oh."
"You're back," Holly J stated matter-of-factly, her good mood from the night instantly going away. Neither of the Edwards sisters were Holly J's favorite people in the world, but Darcy was the worse of the two in her opinion.
"Holly J. So glad to see that you're still making people miserable for your own gain," Darcy greeted, her eyes shooting daggers between them, "This will be fun to tell my sister how you stole her boyfriend." Holly J's jaw dropped and she stepped closer to the other girl.
"Obviously, you've spent too much time in the harsh Kenyan sun and your memory is messed up. I didn't steal Eli."
"Oh, my memory is fine. I still remember how giant your rump is," Darcy threw back.
"I'm glad to see that the little, poor African children know how to put in cheap hair extensions. What a fantastic skill to teach them. Really, God works in mysterious ways." Eli looked around at the other people, hoping that someone, anyone would step in to stop these two from tearing each other apart.
"Holly J, let's just go," Eli asked softly, trying to grab her hand.
"Tell me, what did you have to do to take him from Clare? You couldn't just leave the guy alone," Darcy retorted, ignoring the pleas from Peter to just walk away.
"Not like you who just up and leaves their boyfriend to go to Africa for years. What a good girlfriend you are! He ended up with Mamma Mia after you broke his heart, right? Best decision of his life, in my opinion," Holly J spat out. Peter's grip on Darcy's forearm tightened, shaking his head at Holly J.
"I heard the Power Squad kicked you off of it even though you were captain? Best decision they ever made. You barely made it through try outs when I was there."
"At least I remember losing my virginity."
Darcy's face crumbled, every angry and horrible thought being replaced by pure pain. Holly J knew she had crossed the line but she wasn't about to apologize; after all, Darcy had started this.
"Holly J, that was low," Spinner said.
"You're horrible," Manny threw out as Darcy leaned into her shoulder, wiping away tears. Eli just stood there, dumbfounded at the whole situation.
"Whatever," Holly J mumbled and she moved through the people, making her way out the door and down the stairs.
A/N: Catfight! Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and especially those of you who have reviewing! More and more of you are coming forward and telling me how much you like this and I can't thank you guys enough! There's only a few chapters left so if you were planning on saying something, tell me soon before it's over! Thanks again!