Chapter 7: One Kiss Too Many

"Ok, well, I gotta get home, guys. This was fun," Adam said as the credits of Return of the King appeared on the screen. He got up from the couch, brushed popcorn off of his lap, and fist-bumped Eli goodbye. "See you guys on Monday." Adam smiled at Clare and glared at KC as he walked out.

"Bye, man," Eli called, his stomach dropping at the thought of being alone with Clare and KC.

"Thanks for coming," Clare said sweetly, waving goodbye.

Once Adam was gone, quiet consumed the room. Clare, Eli and KC were each sitting on the couch, nobody daring to say a word. Could this be more awkward, Clare thought. Eli made a grunting noise while leaning forward to get a look at KC, as if bidding KC to leave.

"Well, it's getting late. I should probably get going too," KC announced, relief flooding through both Clare and Eli.

Clare and KC both got up. Eli didn't even bother to say goodbye. He simply glared at KC, making it clear that he had never been welcome tonight.

"Well, it was great that you came," Clare smiled, her fingers playing with the strings of her hoodie.

"Yeah, I'm glad I did. It was great catching up with you." KC leaned forward and gave Clare a hug goodbye. As he was hugging her, he looked straight at Eli, smirking. Eli was clenching is fists so hard, his knuckles turned white.

The embrace was finally over, and KC left, leaving Clare to close the front door.

KC walked down the front porch, not quite satisfied with the time he spent with Clare. He wanted more, but Eli was still inside with her. As KC was walking away from Clare's house, an idea emerged into his head. He quickly turned around, and went to the side of her house. He decided to wait there until Eli finally left.

"Well, that was nice and awkward," Clare breathed out, relieved that she was finally alone with her boyfriend.

"It took them forever to leave," Eli said seductively, wrapping his arms around Clare. Clare's heart started beating uncontrollably. Finally, the right response for the right person, Clare thought, relieved.

"I thought we'd never be alone," she whispered, goose bumps rising on her skin as she felt Eli's breath on her neck.

"Free at last, free at last," he said, placing his mouth on her jaw. His lips traveled across her jaw and down her neck. Clare's brain was in overdrive, wanting him, all of him, in a way she never felt before.

In what felt like forever, his lips finally reached her mouth. Eli led her slowly to the couch, moving his lips with hers. He finally stopped to catch his breath, looking into Clare's deep blue eyes.

Clare traced her thumbs on Eli's cheeks, bidding him to kiss her more. They were finally on the couch, Eli trapping Clare in the corner, kissing her like he never had before. His lips felt strong, and his hands were on Clare's legs, slowly moving their way up. They were now vertical on the couch, Clare's fingers running through Eli's dark hair.

His kissing eventually slowed down, and he rested his head on Clare's forehead.

"We should stop," he whispered.

"No," Clare objected, leaning in to kiss him again.

Eli turned away. "If we don't stop, we're gonna do something that you'll regret," he said, fingering her promise ring.

"Oh…right," Clare agreed, feeling defeated. She had completely forgotten about the promise that she had made to herself.

Eli checked his watch. "I should go, it's pretty late," he said as he shifted his way off of Clare. Clare sat up, disappointed that the moment was over.

"Ok, fine. If you must leave me here. At home. Alone. Extremely vulnerable," Clare teased.

"And I'm sure you'll be fine," Eli said, kissing her ever so softly. "Breakfast at the Dot tomorrow?" he asked.

"Sure," Clare answered, flashing a smile. She leaned in to kiss him one last time.

A few seconds past and Eli pulled away, his hands cupping her face. "I love you," he whispered. His eyes searched hers, waiting for a response. Love? He loves me, Clare thought. Clare felt her heart ready to burst. Eli had taken the next step in their relationship, and she was ready to join him.

"I love you, too," Clare answered, her arms wrapped around his neck. This moment was absolutely perfect. Nothing could ruin what they had. They loved each other, and Eli was the guy for her. His dark demeanor, his smart remarks, his kind heart, all qualities that Clare was in love with.

Not saying another word, Eli pulled away, smiled his signature crooked smile, and walked out the front door.

Clare closed the door behind him, overjoyed to the point that her hands were shaking. She needed to let out her excitement somehow. She grabbed her phone to call Alli, not caring that it was midnight, when the doorbell rang. Clare's insides began to tingle, thinking it was Eli coming back for another kiss. She frantically opened the door, but curiously enough, found KC there.

Clare's first presumption was that KC had left something behind. "Hey! Did you forget something, or…..something?" Clare asked, realizing how stupid her sentence just sounded. Why was she jumbling her words?

"Or something," KC said, inviting himself into the house. Clare moved aside, nervous that they were alone in her house this late at night. Part of her wanted her parents to come home from their church convention so that KC would leave, but she knew they wouldn't be home until one in the morning.

"Is there something you need?" Clare asked, shifting from foot to foot, standing awkwardly in the foyer.

"Just to talk," KC answered, sitting down on the couch. "I just, feel like I rushed out, and the whole point of me coming tonight was to hang out with you. Not Adam or Eli." Clare didn't like the way KC said Eli's name. He said it as if the name was diseased.

"Oh, ok. Well, what did you want to talk about?" Clare wondered if he was ready to open up about what was seemingly bothering him.

"Anything," he answered, looking into her eyes, a little too long.

"Ok…" Clare's mind was racing trying to think of something to talk about. She sat on the couch next to him. "How is it living with your mom now? Is it weird?"

"A little. It took a lot of getting used to," KC answered, this time his eyes never leaving her face, unlike last time where they wouldn't go anywhere near her. "But she's really, truly clean. I'm proud of her. I really put up a fight against moving in with her though," KC added, his face filling with shame.

"It must've been hard to trust her," Clare tried to comfort. "You shouldn't feel bad for resisting. You probably thought she would just snap back to her old ways."

"That's exactly how I felt," KC replied, his eyes looking longingly at her. "You're the only one who understands me. Jenna never understood what I was going through."

"What happened with Jenna?" Clare asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

KC tensed up, regretting that he brought up Jenna. This was a topic he wanted to avoid tonight. "I don't really feel like talking about it," KC answered, sadness taking over.

"You do know that you can tell me anything, KC," Clare said, putting her hand over his for comfort.

"I know," he answered softly. All was quiet for a while. "Do you remember our first kiss?" KC asked abruptly.

What an odd change of subject, Clare thought. She felt uncomfortable with the question. "Yeah," she answered timidly. "It was at the Black and White Dance."

"Uh-huh," KC smiled. "And Connor had locked us in a broom closet cause we weren't speaking to each other," he laughed. Clare had always loved KC's laugh. It was so full of joy and strength. When he laughed, he meant it. He had never been one of those guys who would pretend to find a girl funny just so that he could get in bed with her. He meant what he felt. For the most part, at least.

Clare couldn't help but chuckle. "How could I forget? You were mad cause you thought I would judge you about your past," Clare said.

"But, now I know you could never judge anyone," KC added, looking into space, his mind entranced by thoughts of their old relationship.

KC then looked at Clare, a pang of sadness filling him at the thought that he had lost her. At that moment, when he looked at Clare, he knew he wanted her back. Clare was the one for him. As if out of nowhere, something came over KC that he couldn't quite explain. One moment, they were sitting on the couch talking, and the next moment, he was kissing her. For a couple of seconds, Clare kissed him back. His familiar lips brought on nostalgia to Clare, but then an image of Eli popped into her head, and she pulled away.

"What are you doing?" she asked hysterically, quickly getting up from the couch.

"Clare, I…" KC was at a loss for words. Am I insane, he asked himself, trying to think of something to say to a frantic Clare.

"You know what? I don't even want to know." Clare walked to the foyer and opened the front door. " I think it's time for you to leave," she said tersely, her lips tight.

Without saying a word, KC walked out of the house, leaving Clare to bask in her anger. Clare slammed the door shut and just stood there. If she had been confused about her feelings before, words couldn't describe how confused she was now.

Guilt consumed Clare to the brink. Had she pulled away as soon as he kissed her, she wouldn't have been in the wrong. But she kissed him back. Clare's body suddenly became weak. She had cheated on Eli.

But I'm not the kind of girl who cheats on her boyfriend, Clare thought, barely able to get herself up to her bedroom. Not only had she kissed him back, but it took all the strength she had to pull away. She had felt something, which she knew wasn't good.

Clare knew her next steps were to figure out what those feelings were, and whether or not she was going to tell Eli. Her throat caught at the thought of the latter step. How did something go from being so perfect, to so complicated?