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Is anyone still reading this?

It wasn't much longer until Clare was released from the hospital; in fact, it was only a few days later after the incident in the basement that she was to be sent back home. Helen and Randall, from what Eli could gather, were quite delighted that the ordeal was finally over, and were looking forward to having Clare back at home. He also couldn't help but notice how smug they looked when they saw him pass by. It's as if they had already won the game, and this infuriated him on many levels because one, the fact that they were so happy that their daughter didn't have any recollection of her life was sickening. Two, they had no right to act all superior about it, as it was fate who had interceded upon their favour, not their own doings. And three, there was an eensy-bitsy detail that they are unaware of that could affect everything.

And as Eli sits in the tiny shrub, he finds himself grinning goofily at the memory. When he closes his eyes, he can still feel her touch, her body tangled with his. He can still remember her scent, as it was as wonderful as it had always been despite the awful hospital smell melded with it. The colour that painted across her cheeks was like sight to a blind man, so beautiful and incredible because it was reserved just for him. And with this, the conniving little boy that is Eli Goldsworthy has devised a plan. A plan to win Clare back one hundred percent.

"You are honestly the creepiest little fucker I've ever met," Adam whispers loudly, only to be shushed by Eli. In a quieter voice he adds, "Why are we even here?"

"Clare just got home this morning, and the first thing she probably wants to do is sleep," he whispers, peering at the tree a few feet away from him. "Her parents are probably going to let her, which gives me a chance to sneak into her bedroom."

Adam stares at him. "And what the hell are you planning to do with her in her bedroom?"

"You nasty, it's nothing like that," Eli snaps, face burning at the thought. "I told you, in the basement, something happened. I know she still loves me- she just doesn't remember. But it's in there Adam, I'm sure of it."

Adam puts his hands up in a defensive mode. "Don't shoot a guy for asking. She's my friend too, you know."

Eli rolls his eyes. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Seeing that I don't really have another choice, I guess I am. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to stand guard," he says briskly, eyeing the front lawn. The car is in the driveway, clear evidence that her parents are at home. And whether Jake is in there or not doesn't really matter to him; as far as Eli's concerned, he's completely irrelevant at this point. "There's a window up front where you can see the living room and kitchen. I want you to tell me if they're ever going upstairs, okay? I'll be climbing up that tree over there." He gestures it wildly, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Do you even know how to climb a tree?" Adam asks skeptically, folding his arms across his chest.

"I've done it before, thank you very much," Eli says acerbically, shoving him out of the shrub. "Now go!"

Adam stumbles forward, nearly tripping over his own feet before regaining equilibrium. His beanie falls anew on his head, and he shoots Eli a death glare. He mutters something ugly under his breath as he stalks away, yanking the knit hat off his head.

Now Eli is rushing ahead, grabbing the first branch of the tree with both hands. He heaves himself up, exerting much more force than from the time before. He's not as strong as he used to be, and his leg in particular slowed him down quite a bit. Heart racing in his chest, he grunts and climbs until he reaches a good level with Clare's bedroom window. The stupid window thing was still there, the very thing that forced him to strip off his pants upon retrieving Clare's stuff. He wonders if they were tucked away somewhere her room, or if Helen had already burned it to ashes.

Eli nearly loses his footing when he sees her, lying soundlessly on her bed. Her eyes are open, much to his surprise, her hands clasped together at her stomach. She's deep in thought, and it's evident by the way she doesn't even notice him. At first, Eli contemplates waving, banging on the screen, and calling her name. But then he sees her sigh, an adorable little sound muffled by the closed window. He sees her rolls over to her side, now supporting her headful of dishevelled curls with one hand, absently fiddling with the hem of her sweater with the other. Every moment is enticing, and he engrossingly watches under his legs groan from squatting for so long. Taking in a deep breath, he leans forwards and knocks.

Startled, she turns around, eyes widening when she realizes who it is. Eli's heart skips a beat when her gaze meets his, and for a second, the world stands still. It's the two of them all over again, sharing secrets messages that no one else could decipher. No one else is intruding, no one else to hear what they are saying, just the two of them. For a second, Eli's fingers loosen, and he gazes at her more deeply and intimately than he has in a while. He drinks her in, every bit of her. Her eyes bring him back to a better place, and all the walls built around him soften and crumble. She breaks him in the best way possible, and she doesn't even have to try.

But before anything else had the chance to happen, the grassy lawn is suddenly approaching at an alarming rate. Gravity rips through his body in the matter of heartbeats, and a sickening crunch it heard through his eardrums.

He fell, damn it. His face is mashed up against the ground, and it hurts.

"Eli!" she cries from somewhere above. Disoriented, Eli attempts to wrench himself up in a sitting position. Nothing happens.

"Ow," he whimpers to the ground.

His ears pick up some scuffing noises. The branches crack and move, and the sound of a solid landing is heard somewhere beside his head.

"Are you hurt?" she asks worriedly, gently turning him around. He blinks, and there are blurry white figures moving all over the place. It takes him a while to zero in on her, as the sky seems to be above him. His head is pounding from the impact, and he's sure to have a massive headache once his vision clears up.

"No, I feel like fucking Superman," Eli mumbles, wincing at the pain. Clare giggles, a pretty sound that makes him smile and feel like it'd be worth falling down a hundred times to hear it again.

"Come," she says softly, gingerly taking his head and laying in on her lap.

I must have fallen and gone to Heaven, he thinks, sighing in blissfulness. Half of him is fully keyed in on reality, while the other half is peacefully drifting in God knows where. At the moment though, it doesn't really matter. All he knows is that his head is no Clare's lap, and that's all he needs to know.

"I was planning on slapping you for creeping up on me like that," she muses, shyly playing with his hair. "But then you fell, and I figured you were punished enough."

"I'm on your lap," Eli says distractedly. He's on his lap. She's stroking her hair. Somebody pinch him. "I hope you don't expect me to be coherent."

"Would it help if I push you off?" she asks teasingly, with so much warmth in her voice that Eli is almost convinced that he has died and gone to Heaven. She's not even mad. He can't process this, oh God.

"I will go unconscious if you do so unless you want that to happen under your care…"

"Funny," she says, sounding amused. "Now how about you tell me why you're here?"

As hard as it is trying to wrack his brain, the topic remains at the very front of his mind, and he draws it out for reveal easily. Maybe if he was a little more tuned in, he would take some time to word it in a lighter, vaguer manner, but that's not exactly how it comes across. "I know you still have feelings for me, even if you don't remember it."

Yep, very well worded Goldsworthy. He should receive an award for eloquence, definitely.

Her fingers stop teasing his hair for a minute, and he almost regrets saying the words at once.

"You just won't stop, will you?" she sighs. But contrary to her sad tone, she places her hand on his chest and begins to caress him. Eli whimpers at how good it feels, savouring in the warm touch. He hopes he doesn't scare her away with how fast and hard his heart is beating. If she thought he was going into cardiac arrest, she was doing a pretty good job at hiding it.

"I won't give up on you," he whispers in complete honestly, closing his eyes. "I know you don't remember, but you will always be the most precious thing to me. And whether or not you feel the same way, that'll never change."

"I know you're telling the truth," she says ruefully, now sliding her hand under his shirt form his neckline. She ventures deeper in, now touching him with full-on skin contact. The winter air is suddenly a lot warmer than it had been five minutes ago.

"You do?" he says, the desperate hope leaking in his voice.

"I've been thinking about what happened, and…God, Eli," she smiles, a tinge of sadness still colouring her tone. "The things you made me feel when I can't even remember a single thing…the more I think about it, the more obvious becomes."

She gazes deeply into his eyes, pouring in all the admiration and love he used to see from her all the time. There's not a trace of fear or doubt.

"I just hope someday I can love you again in the same way I once did," she says softly.

"How about now?" Eli asks, turning his head. He faces her stomach, and buries his nose in the soft material of her sweater. She smells so sweet. She smells like home. "What are you thinking now?"

"It's complicated," she whispers.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs, nudging her sweater aside with his nose so that he could kiss her belly button. From here, he can hear her heart beat quickening and smiles tenderly. His lips linger there for a while, just continuing to place loving kisses and making it known to her that he loves her with every fibre of his being. He'll never neglect to spoil her with affection again. "But…"

"But what?" she arches her brow.

"But what if…I got you to fall in love with me again? What if we could take it slow?" he suggests hopefully, looking up at her.

"Like go on a first date again? Maybe you could tell me about how that went," she jokes lightly, drawing small circles on his chest.

"We could go see Arcade Fire," he grins. "You'd like them."

"We need a new song, anyway," she says fondly.

"I was thinking Tunnels," he says thoughtfully.

"I'd like-"

"ELI!"

The pair breaks from their little bubble at once, turning to see Adam running over to them with a slightly nervous expression on his face. "I- am I interrupting something?"

"Well-"

"Because I don't really care," he says urgently. "Clare your dad is heading upstairs now! You have to get back up there!"

-x—

Clare, though looking mildly confused, understood that much. father probably wouldn't like it very much if she jumped out a window her first day back, but the way Adam was saying it, it's as if he would pull out a bazooka on them if he found her here.

"Clare, you need to get back up there," Eli says in a rush, wrenching himself off her lap. There are brown twigs stuck on his hair, and maybe if he didn't look so hurried, she would have called him out on it. He looks adorable, and with a tingle in her stomach, she realizes she's never wanted to kiss a person more than she did right now. Not even Jake could bring her to fell this way.

"Don't worry, I can explain things to my dad," Clare says calmly, brushing herself off.

Adam looks at her as if she has a horn growing out of her head.

"Clare, you don't understand," Eli says in a strained voice. "Your dad and mom hate me, and they'll murder me if they find you here with me."

"My parents aren't like that," she counters, feeling offended by his accusation.

"Except that they are," Adam says dryly, tugging roughly on Eli's elbow. "Come on, we have to get out of here!"

"I have to go," Eli says wretchedly, taking her hand and leading her to the front. "Tell you what: you can tell her dad that you stepped out for some fresh air. Tell him that he must have not seen you coming down the stairs."

"You're leaving?" Clare asks, disappointing evident in her voice. She does not want him to go, at least not now.

Or ever, she says softly in her head.

Eli reaches out and touches her cheek, smoothing the pad of his thumb over her temple. There's sadness that he's excusing, sadness that Clare can feel. There's an inexplicable ache in her chest that has to do with his inevitable depart, and she's torn. She's torn between leaving with him right now, and staying where it's safe. There's a deep sense of yearning stirring inside of her, just begging her to go with him. To learn again about the boy she once fell deeply in love with.

He presses her forehead and against hers, lips parted and just inches away. His breath is feathery and tempting, and he almost kisses her. Almost.

"I'll come back," he says in an undertone, a tone that's meant only for her ears.

"Promise me," she beseeches him, wondering where the desperateness had derived from truly. There strings are attached now, and they're holding her down with him.

"I promise," he whispers. His lips skim hers, before tearing away completely.

He leaves with Adam at his tail, not a single glance back spared.