Title: Hot Mess
Rating: R
Chapter: 5
Fandom: Degrassi: The Next Generation
Summary: Clare uses her womanly whiles to protect Eli. Eclare. Flare. Misfits!
Comments: "Hot Mess" by Cobra Starship.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the idea.

Clare closed the front door, tiptoeing her way through the living room to the staircase. Just when she thought she was in the clear, her mother's voice shouted, "Mary Clare Edwards!"

Clare winced at the sound of her full name before turning to her mother.

Helen sat at the kitchen table, her face red with fury. "Where have you been! What are wearing!" she demanded, shock rising through her. She had no idea her daughter owned such an outfit to make her look like tramp.

Clare shrugged nonchalantly, "I was at Alli's. This was Darcy's. I thought I'd borrow it for the night." She ran a hand through her disheveled curls, tilting her head to the side.

"You look like a whore! And as far as I've heard, you've been parading around with boys, as well!" Helen snapped, narrowing her eyes at her daughter.

"They're just boys!" Clare exclaimed in annoyance. "Look just because Dad fucks everything with a vagina that moves, doesn't mean that I'm going to sleep around!" She immediately regretted her words, taking a step back in shock.

Helen's eyes went wide in shock as they filled with tears. She lowered her eyes to look at the kitchen table. "Get out," she whispered.

Clare furrowed her brow, "Excuse me?"

"Get out. I said get out!" Helen raised her voice at her daughter, struggling not to cry. "You're not welcome here anymore." With that, she walked upstairs.

Clare's eyes went wide in shock, her filling with tears. Everyone, even her own mother, had turned against her. She bit her bottom lip as she rushed out of the house. She wrapped her arms around her almost naked body, shivering in the cold. She sighed heavily, scratching her head as she started to cry.

She pulled her phone out of clutch, dialing a number quickly. She sighed in relief when she heard a voice at the other end, "Hey. Can you pick me up?" She shook her head, wiping her eyes, "No, I'm fine. Really… Okay. Bye."

DTNG

Eli laid down in his bed, glancing over at Clare as she cuddled into his covers, closing her eyes exhaustedly. She reached out, grabbing his hand. He gave her hand a comforting squeeze while brushing her hair out of her face with his free hand. She sighed contently, quickly falling to sleep.

Eli took in a deep breath, watching her sleep soundly. He was dying to get closer to her, but knew he would wake her and hated to disturb her in such a calm state. Worry ate him alive as he lay beside her. When he had gotten her call, he did not need to think twice about picking her up. Even when he had got her back to his house, she had refused to give him any details. He did not press because his heart had already broken enough at seeing her cry.

Eli brought her hand to his mouth, giving her knuckles a soft kiss. He saw a small smile appear on her lips and smiled himself. He rested his head on the pillow beside hers and closed his eyes, content upon seeing her smile.

DTNG

Clare smiled softly as the smell of coffee filled her lungs, waking her. Her eyes fluttered open and fell upon Eli, who was sitting next to her with two mugs full of coffee. She giggled slightly, sitting up next to him, "You're sweet."

Eli nodded, handing her the mug, "You've had a long night. You can use a treat."

Clare took the mug willingly with a heavy sigh, leaning back against the headboard. She took a long sip, causing her to smile for a minute at the flavor of cinnamon and vanilla. She looked back at him, tilting her head to the side, "Thank you."

Eli almost rolled his eyes, but caught himself. He did not want to upset her further but he knew she would never get over it if she did not talk about what happened. "You don't have to talk about it. But, Babe, you'll only hurt more if you don't," he informed quietly before taking a sip of his coffee.

Clare bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes. She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it. She knew by hesitating, she would only make herself feel worse. She wanted to tell Eli, yet it was too soon. She looked back at him and sighed, "Not yet, Eli. I don't feel well enough."

Eli nodded and leaned over, kissing her forehead gently. He ran a hand through her hair and gave her a small smile, "We should get going." He got up, setting his empty cup on his nightstand. "You need to get stuff from your house."

Clare nodded, handing him her mug, "Yeah. Thanks." She gave him a small smile and watched him leave the room. She sighed heavily, looking at her pile of clothes she had changed out of when she got to his house that morning. There was no way she could wear that out in public.

DTNG

Clare pulled Eli's jacket tight around her, covering up her corset. She shifted uncomfortably where she sat in the passenger seat next to Eli, damning herself for wearing such uncomfortable clothes. She swore every time she would move her leather pants got tighter. She sighed in annoyance, taking a long swig of coffee.

Eli glanced over at her, slightly concerned by her actions. He reached over, taking her hand to soothe her. "You look fine. You can't even see your corset," he assured, stroking her knuckles with his thumb.

Clare looked up at him, smiling softly as her eyes filled with tears. She bit her bottom lip hesitantly, dying to find the words to tell him what happened. "I-I…"

Eli furrowed his brow, glancing over at her. "Hold on, Babe," he whispered softly, pulling into the nearest parking lot. As soon as he parked, he turned his full attention to her – literally. "What's up?" he asked gently, coaxing her carefully into talking.

Clare felt her heart stop. She knew exactly what she wanted to say, but they were in a good place right now. She did not want to ruin it with a confession of her sex life. "I got kicked out," she finally whispered. It was not a lie, yet it was not what she knew he needed to hear.

Eli sighed heavily, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her into him. "Oh, Blue Eyes. I'm so sorry," he whispered in her ear.

Clare buried her head in the crook of his neck, wrapping her arms around his torso. She closed her eyes, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "It's okay."

Eli sighed, "Why?"

"Because I have you," Clare replied hopefully, running a hand through his hair.

Eli shook his head, "No. Why were you kicked out?"

Clare pulled back from him, taking in a sharp breath. She needed to get as far away from him as she could when she told him. She sighed heavily, "Because I'm a whore."

"You're not a whore," Eli assured, going to rub her arm.

Clare shrugged him away, shaking her head, "I am, Eli."

Eli furrowed his brow, shaking his head, "One night of sex with one guy doesn't make you a whore, Clare."

Clare bit her bottom lip, tears filling her eyes again. She looked away from him, her heart breaking enough without even having to see his face.

Eli frowned, starting to get confused and concerned. "Clare…"

"I slept with Fitz," Clare mumbled softly, her lips trembling the entire time.

Eli clenched his hands together into fists, gritting his teeth together in anger and hurt. He lunged forward, punch the glass of the window on either side of her head, screaming in her face, "You what!"

Clare burst into tears, fear filling her body. She slowly reached behind herself for the handle to the door.

"Fuck, Clare!" Eli shouted, still in her face. He pulled back from his intimidating position to hit the steering wheel hard. "You really slept with him…"

Clare dropped her hand, looking up at him as she wiped her eyes. She nodded, "Yeah…"

"Why? He's an asshole. He doesn't love you. I love you!" Eli exclaimed, fighting back tears. He took her hand, kissing her palm. "I love you," he breathed against her skin, sending shivers down her spine.

"The first time… it was to save your ass," Clare stated, sniffling slightly. "But after that… you didn't want me. He did. He cared and made me feel wanted." She shut her eyes tight, trying to push the image of Fitz inside of her out of her mind. "But I want you. I love you. I love you so damn much." She looked up at him. She slid across the seat on her knees, taking his face in her hands. "Eli, I love you. You are my best friend and it killed me. That's why I-I went to the party. I knew doing what I did would you get back."

Eli searched her eyes, his mouth parted ever so slightly as her confession overwhelmed him. He closed his eyes, shaking his head as he started to cry. "No, Clare. You used me."

Clare shook her head, crying with him, "Oh my god, Eli; it's like I took your virginity! You slept with Julia for two years!" She gasped, biting her tongue as soon as it came out of her mouth.

Eli's mouth dropped in shock as he stared at her. "God, when do you turn into a bitch?" he spat at her through tears.

Clare ran her hand through his hair, "Eli, I… I didn't mean that."

Eli gripped her wrist, pulling it away. He tightened his grip on her, twisting her arm slightly, as he leaned in closer to her. "Don't you ever, ever talk about Julia again! You have no fucking right to talk about her like that! You fucking whore!" he shouted merely an inch from her face.

Clare screamed out in pain, tears now flooding from her eyes, "Eli, stop!" She tried to pull her arm away, but he only held on tighter. "Eli, you're hurting me!"

Eli's eyes went wide in shock, immediately letting her go. "Oh my god…" he whispered, astounded by his reaction.

Clare collapsed back on the seat, barely able to catch her breath. She pulled the sleeve of his jacket over her hand and rested it on her chest. She closed her eyes, echoing him, "Oh my god…"

Clare opened her eyes, looking up at Eli, freighted. She reached up with her good hand, causing him to wince at the thought of her slapping him. He was slightly surprised when she grabbed him by the collar, pulling him down on top of her. "We're even," she whispered softly in his ear, shuttering painfully.

She turned her head, taking his lips without her own. He sighed softly against her lips, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer. He slipped a hand down her side to her knee, pulling it around his waist, and ground his hips into hers. She groaned softly into the kiss, giving him the perfect moment to slide his tongue into her mouth. She sighed softly, her tongue attacking his back.

She placed her hands on his shoulders, tugging his jacket off of him from the back, while trying her hardest to ignore the pain shooting through her arm. He pulled back from her slightly, taking his jacket and shirt off. He leaned back down, staring into her eyes in awe, "You have pretty eyes."

She flushed, turning her head away in embarrassment. "Thank you," she whispered back.

He pressed his nose against her cheek, turning her head back to him while consuming her mouth with his own. He slid his hand up the back of her jacket, carefully removing her arms from the sleeves. He pulled them to a sitting position, lifting her off the seat to untie her corset.

Once her top was removed, Clare felt as if she could finally breathe. She pulled her head back from Eli's, her face aglow with a mischievous smirk. She shoved him away gently, climbing over the seat to the spacious back. She bit her bottom lip, making a 'come here' motion with her index finger.

Eli could not help but grin, climbing over the back seat. He slowly crawled on his hands and knees to reach her as she undid her leather pants slowly with her good hand. Once he reached her, he leaned over, grabbing the top hem of her pants with his teeth and slowly, with the help of his hands tugging them down from the bottom, removed her last layer of clothing from her body. She trembled as she watched him, gripping his hair with her good hand.

Once her pants were removed, Eli hooked her knees on his shoulders, barely touching the folds of her clit with his tongue. The sound of his name moaned from her lips assured him to keep going. He pushed the loose skin back with his tongue before circling her most sensitive spot. She gasped, shuttering in pleasure, while trying to keep herself balanced on his shoulders. She wrapped her legs around his head, taking away all bit of balance left in her, and fell back on the floor with a squeak, leaving him behind.

Eli's eyes went wide in shock as he leaned down to Clare, running his hand through her hair to feel for a bump. "Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly.

Clare coughed from having the wind knocked out of her. She nodded, speaking when she finally caught her breath. "I'm amazing," she whispered contently.