Clare's POV

It's been three days since Eli and I kissed. The butterflies are still fluttering in my stomach, especially when I go into deep thought about the incident. I even brush the tips of my fingers across my lips once in a while, remembering the feeling I got before, during, and after the kiss. Strangely though, shortly after our moment, Eli began to drift away from me. Him and Adam are on good terms again but I can't help but think that he's avoiding me. A girl can imagine, right?

.-.

It's been two weeks now and I realized that Eli really is avoiding me. I try to talk to him, he replies with one word answers; lucky, if two or three. I smile at him; he gives a small gesture and looks away. I tap his shoulder in English, and nothing. Did I do something wrong? I soon realized that he and I needed to have a talk.

Eli's POV

It's been two days since we kissed. I can still feel her lips linger on mine. The feeling soothes me; it even makes me blush from time to time. It is undoubtedly obvious that I like Clare. Hell, I'm not even sure if like is the appropriate definition. I consider it as an understatement, even. If she has enough power to make me forget about what Julia did, then I guess she really means a lot to me. But, I'm scared. Of what, you may ask? I'm scared that we'll end up like Julia and I did; under terrible terms with a scar inscribed in our hearts. Or maybe just mine, at least. So I am concluding it. I have to avoid Clare.

.-.

It's been a while since Clare and I talked, and I still feel terrible. Over the time I avoided her, my feelings didn't lessen. They grew, actually; and to a very high power. This girl will be the end of me. I want to be with her, no lie there. But, I just can't. I don't want to risk everything. I don't want to have and to cause heartbreak. I like her too much to even try something remotely close to that. I wanted to talk to her badly. I'd pick up the phone, dial, and then hang up. I would go behind her and want to tap her shoulder but I always end up walking away at the last minute. Face it, I'm a big, fat, coward. And I think I'll have to stay that way.

NO POV

Clare marched through the double doors of Degrassi, straight towards one Elijah Goldsworthy's locker. Once she got to her destination, her hands shook, her face worried, and small beads of sweat trickled down her forehead to her face. She was nervous. She had never confronted a guy before about their relationship. Well, with the exception of KC but that was a completely different story. After five minutes of waiting, she was about to give up when a familiar face finally came into sight.

Eli's eyes slightly bugged out at the sight of Clare. He was about to turn around and maybe walk or run away but he felt paralyzed. And, he knew he had to confront her sooner or later, nonetheless. He put on a brave face and walked over to Clare. Before Eli could speak, Clare beat him to it.

"Elijah Goldsworthy, what's going on?" Clare blurted out. Eli shook his head before speaking, "Clare, go in Morty. We're going for a ride." Eli spoke with no emotion. Just blank expression, but Clare didn't care at the moment. She nodded subtly and made her way through the doors to the hearse, with Eli following in her trail.

Once they got into Morty, Eli sped off from the parking lot onto the road. Clare was puzzled and to be honest, a little scared. She didn't know where they were going and she was skipping class again. But she just sat back in her seat and waited as to where Eli would take them. About twenty minutes later, Eli finally stopped in a park area. Clare noticed her surroundings and realized that they were just a few minutes away from the city area. They sat down at one of the benches nearby. Clare was about to start ranting but Eli cut her to it.

"So, here we are." He said, awkwardness filling his voice.

"Yeah" Clare said. She couldn't think of anything but she held no more back "Eli what's going on? Everything was perfect but then you started avoiding me. Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me or something?" Clare finished, but Eli sat there; nothing escaping his mouth but one subtle sigh. Clare burst.

"Damn it Eli! God, just tell me if you hate me already! You don't have to hurt me" Clare cried out, tears slowly forming at the corners of her eyes. Eli was hurt too, and he knew he had to talk.

"Clare, I'm sorry. Really, I am. The truth is, I've been avoiding you because…well…I have two reasons. One, it's because I don't want us to try being together and ending up just like Julia and I did, with a lot of anger and pain. And two; because...I like you too much. Hell, I might even love you. But I don't want to hurt you. I don't want us to end up hating each other one day because I carry a lot of baggage. I just don't want us to act like strangers one day. I want us to know each other and care about one another forever. It's cheesy, I admit but it's just how I feel."

Clare was shocked. Speechless. She never knew that Eli cared about her for so much. All she could say was, "Eli, no matter what, pain or sorrow, happy or sad, laugh or cry, I will always care about you and love you. No matter how much we can drift one day, whether we dated or not, I will always love you. Remember that. And I completely understand if you don't want us to be together. As long as I know how you feel about me."

"Clare, I want to be with you. I'm just scared of the future." Eli said, more like a whisper.

"Eli, don't be scared. Everyone needs to take risks once in a while, maybe something like this. You can't be scared of what you don't know. You don't know what's gonna happen in the future if you don't try it. Michael Jordan said you miss 100% of the shots you don't take and this is one of those shots."

Eli was speechless. She's right, he thought. He wanted to prove to her that he did love her so he gave her a smile, grabbed the back of her neck and pulled his lips to hers. She was hesitant at first, but she soon followed his lead. Their lips and tongues told a story, moving against each other with rhythm perfectly, like they were made to be connected. Eli pulled away, making Clare groan at the loss. But, Eli disappointed her no more when the next few words escaped his lips.

"Well then Miss Edwards, I'm going to take that shot. Will you be mine? Not forever, because we'll never know. But until the day we stop loving, will you with me?" Eli said, cracking a genuine smile.

Clare smiled as big as she could, ear to ear and without words, grabbed Eli's face and pulled them close together. No, they did not kiss, but their noses were just touching perfectly before she whispers, "Until the day we stop loving." she gave him a soft peck, their lips barely touching and pulled away only to see Eli's eyes closed, and his lips curled into a smile. This was just the start.

A/N : And there you go (: Reviews? :D