The First Date

A/N: As a fair warning, I mentioned Darcy's rape in this.

Disclaimer: I sadly, do not own Degrassi.(If I did, JT would still be alive and we'd have seen Darcy say goodbye to Clare. Not to mention she'd have told Peter sooner that she was going to Kenya instead of telling him at the last minute the day before she left) I do however, own the character, Sara Winters.

Part Two

"I can't believe you planned all this!" Clare said, eyes wide and joyous.

KC smiled at her. Happy to see that she was enjoying their date so far. He;d had girlfriends in the past but none that he'd really cared about. Not like he cared about Clare. The candles illuminated her face perfectly.

"You know, if you two keep smiling like that, I am going to begin to think you've both gone insane." Holly J's teasing voice said as she placed a plate of spaghetti infront of each of them as Spinner came out and sat a plate with two pieces of Texas Toast between them.

"Wow. Holly J does have a soft side." Spinner said to her teasingly as he bumped his hip into her's.

The older girl flushed in embarassement before one of her tiny, yet strong hands grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him with her. "C'mon." She growled out. "Those two need some privacy."

"But..." Spinner started to say only for Holly J to slap him upside the head lightly.

"Spinner! NO! You are not going to spy on them." She hissed as she dragged him into the kitchen.

KC and Clare laughed at the scene those two were causing and turned to their food.

"Thanks for all this KC." Clare said shyly as her lips quirked up in a smile after she wiped some spaghetti sauce off of her mouth. "You doing this for me makes me feel special and the fact that Spinner and Holly J helped---" She stopped talking and leaned over the table slightly to kiss his cheek.

"You deserve it Clare." He told her with a soft smile.

The dinner continued on with general conversation and the clink of forks against plates.

Spinner came out and took their plates from the table, coming back moments later with two styrofoam cups of hot chocolate. "It's cold out there." He explained as he handed them each a cup.

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The two left moments later, arm in arm. "KC?" Clare asked hesitantly as she stared at his profile, wondering how he'd take the question that she was about to ask.

He looked at her, wondering for a moment why she was acting strange, if she didn't like the date as much as she'd told him she had. "Are you okay, Clare?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine KC. I was just---wondering if you'd tell me what happened to your parents..." She asked him as she swallowed hard.

KC sighed and led her over to a bench for them to sit down. "I've been in foster care for two years." He told her carefully as he squeezed her hand sweetly. "My parents died in a car wreck. A drunk driver hit our car. I was in the backseat and had lost consciousness. When I woke up a day later, some man from child's services was there with a police officer. The police officer told me that my mother and father were killed on impact."

Clare gasped beside him and she began to stroke his hand with her thumb.

He gave her a grateful smile before he looked up at the sky. "They'd have liked you. My mom especially." He told her.

She smiled tearfully before she said, "So, KC. You promised me something about an arcade?"

KC finally smiled--thankfully and helped her up. The pair raced up the block to the arcade and ran inside.

"I haven't been to an arcade since I was little! Darcy and I used to always play that game and get alot of tickets. It used to be a competition between us." Clare told him, nodding her head in the direction of a game where you were supposed to throw a ball in one of the holes that went from ten points to one hundred.

"Well do you want to play it?" KC asked her.

She giggled and nodded as she ran torward the game. KC paused and just stared for a moment, enthralled by this different side of Clare that he was seeing.

They played many more games and then finally, grew tired taking their tickets up to the prize counter where KC picked Clare out a stuffed dolphin, causing her to laugh as she hugged it to her and grinned up at him with a childlike glee.

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After they left the arcade, KC took her hand in his and led her down a street. He stopped infront of a brick home and he put a gentle arm around her waist, holding her close. He smiled down at her and opened the door slowly. "C'mon." He told her softly as he led her inside. The noise of the television and children's laughter filled her ears as soon as she stepped inside.

A little girl who appeared to be around eight, ran up as soon as she saw him. "KC! KC! Your back!" She said as she hugged him with one small arm, clutching a rabbit stuffed animal that appeared to be as old as the little girl holding it---in the other.

KC laughed and bent at the waist to pick the little girl up. "Hey Sar." He said as the girl hugged him. "This is my girlfriend, Clare Edwards. Clare, meet Sara Winters."

The child lifted a small hand to wave and smiled shyly before burying her head into KC's neck, arms tightening around him. "Hi." She whispered, peeking out at Clare.

"Hi Sara." Clare said with a soft smile and friendly wave.

He sat the little girl back on the ground and said, "Why don't you go play Sara? I'm going to go introduce Clare to Nash."

Sara nodded and ran off into a room.

"Nash should be in the kitchen." KC told Clare as he led her past a living room where seven kids ranging from ages ten to 13 were watching television. They walked into the kitchen where a man with curly, black hair stood, putting something in the fridge.

"Nash?" KC asked.

The man looked up quickly, almost hitting his head on the freezer door. He smiled when he saw the girl that stood by KC's side. "You must be Clare." He said, grinning as he walked torwards she and KC and held out a hand for her to shake.

Clare nodded and grinned as she took his offered hand. "You're Nash, I presume." She answered.

Nash nodded and took a step back. "KC has been driving us nuts. You are all he talks about anymore."

She laughed and glanced at KC who was flushed a deep red. He mumbled something under his breath and then said, "We are going to go to my room now, Nash."

Nash nodded. "Okay, just keep the door open a crack. And it was nice meeting you Clare."

"You too, Nash." Clare told him.

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Clare?" KC asked as they sat on the bed in his room---with the door open of course, watching television.

"Hmm?" She mumbled as she lifted her head from it's resting place on his shoulder to look at him.

He swallowed hard, wondering if she'd get mad at him for asking. "What did your mother mean when she mentioned your sister?"

Clare froze. Her eyes flickered and darkened and her breathing became haggard. "Do you really want to know that KC?" She whispered softly, unable to look at him.

KC frowned and ran a hand through her hair. "You have me worried Clare."

"My life isn't as perfect as everyone thinks. A year ago, my sister went on a ski trip with her friend, Manny and Peter. All kinds of kids were hanging out at the lodge drinking. From what I understand, she and Peter were sitting on the couch talking and Peter went to the bathroom. Darcy passed out on the couch with a cup in her hand and when she woke up in the morning--she was in bed with Peter. She wasn't wearing any clothing and yet Peter was. Someone had spiked her drink earlier that night with the Date Rape drug. They put Peter into the bed so she'd think that they'd gotten drunk or something and slept together--or maybe so she'd assume Peter was the one who did it." Clare took in a deep breath as she remembered what her sister had done after. Slitting her wrist and mutiple attempts at suicide because what happened made her feel dirty. "My sister was dragged off to a room and no one stopped it. No one did anything." Clare's tears stained her face now and she couldn't hold back her sobs any longer.

He swallowed hard at his girlfriend's words as he tried to keep from crying. "That's horrible." He said. "Did they ever find her attacker?"

Clare shook her head against him as she held his tee-shirt tight in one fist. "No. Darcy...she didn't tell anyone until it was too late. He'd attacked other girls too. He'd put that drug in whenever they sat their cup down somewhere. Her rapist could be anyone. I mean...he could actually be in our school. " She said in disgust.

"I wish I'd have been there to stop your sister's attack." KC said, both because he meant it and because he didn't know what else to say.

She pulled away and smiled at him, eyes still glistening with tears but atleast she didn't look so heartbroken anymore. "Thank you." She whispered as she leaned in to kiss his lips. "You know that Alli will be begging me for details on our date, right?" She said with a laugh as she changed the subject.

He laughed. "Of course she will. She'll probably bug me as well. She's been our biggest supporter."

"She really has been. I still remember that after the dance, she called me up and squealed in my ear because we'd made up." Clare told him.

KC smiled and shook his head as he pulled Clare closer and they turned to watch television. He was happy with how his life was turning out and he wasn't going to do anything to ruin it. Ever

The End