Title: Hot Mess
Rating: R
Chapter: 12
Fandom: Degrassi: The Next Generation
Summary: Clare uses her womanly whiles to protect Eli. Eclare. Flare. Misfits!
Comments: "Hot Mess" by Cobra Starship. This is about two weeks later.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the idea.

Eli carefully poured a cup of hot water into a mug and just as he set it back on the stove, a shrilling scream filled the air. His eyes went wide in fear, running up the stairs to his room. He threw the door open and found Clare stretched over the edge of the bed, crying, with her pants hanging down to her knees. He rushed to her side, running a hand through her hair, "What's wrong, Baby?"

Clare looked up at him, shaking with sobs, "My pants don't fit."

Eli laughed in relief, wrapping her into him, "Oh, Edwards…" He felt happiness rush through him at her reply, rubbing her back.

Clare shook her head, pushing away from him, through tears, "It's not funny! I'm fat!"

Eli shook his head, "You're not fat. You're pregnant." He leaned down, kissing the small bump on her stomach gently. He sat back up straight, rubbing her stomach, smiling, "We'll go shopping tonight, okay? You should put your sweats on."

Clare scrunched her nose up, her lips jutting into a small pout, "Why?"

"Because they're looser than your jeans and will fit," Eli informed. He leaned down, kissing the corner of her mouth. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna finish making your tea."

Clare sighed, watching him leave the room. She turned her head to the side, looking over at her purple sweats draped over the desk chair. She rolled her eyes, groaning.

DTNG

Clare pulled her purse up on her shoulder, looking in her mirror hanging on the inside of the locker. She felt disgusted at the person reflecting back – pale, disheveled, confused, hurt, jealous – this was not her; at least, not a few months ago. She swallowed hard, forcing a smile on her face. That's right; smile through the pain. That is what her father always told her and her mother always acted on.

Her fake smile faded at the reflection in her mirror. She spun around, shutting her locker in the process. She watched Fitz as he limped through the hallway, leaning against his cane for support. She smiled a bit at seeing him sort of walking again. She headed behind him, calling out softly, "Finally figured a way out of that forsaken wheelchair."

Fitz slowly turned to face her, a small smile on his face, "Yeah. Sort of. I have to use a cane though. And it still hurts like hell, if not even more." He winced slightly in pain. She quickly moved to his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, and helped him to one of the benches.

Clare beamed, looking at him in awe, "I'm proud of you." She kissed the corner of his mouth.

Fitz smiled, gripping her shoulder with his hand. "I missed you," he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her back.

Clare fluttered her eyes slightly, biting her bottom lip. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, looking down bashfully, while wringing her hands together.

Fitz smiled softly, suggesting, "We should all live together."

Clare looked up at him, blinking in disbelief, "Wh-what?"

Fitz nodded, meeting her eyes with excitement, "Eli shouldn't get you to himself. Our 'first come, first serve' rule sucks if he's living with you."

Clare snorted, furrowing her brow, "First come, first serve?" She gave him a peculiar smile, shaking her head.

"You're the horniest pregnant woman ever. And so we came up with this rule while I was in the hospital. When you go nuts for sex, whoever is there first is the one who gets to sleep with you," Fitz shrugged nonchalantly.

Clare shook her head, shrugging his hand from her shoulders, "Wait. You guys made rules. When did you do this?"

Fitz shrugged nonchalantly, "When you would be in the bathroom or in the cafeteria."

Clare's jaw dropped in astonishment. "You're actually getting along." The corner of her mouth perked up, causing a half-smile on her mouth. "Wow…" She looked up at him, nodding, "I'll talk to Eli." She leaned up, kissing Fitz hard on the lips. His eyes went wide, shocked by her actions, but willingly kissed her back.

DTNG

Clare sat on the ground next to Adam, relaxing against a set of lockers. She sighed heavily, dropping her history book on the ground beside her, and looked over at him, pouting, "I hate history."

Adam shook his head, looking up from his trigonometry book, "I can't believe you think moving Fitz and Eli into the same house is a good idea."

Clare frowned, furrowing her brow, as she spoke defensively, "It was Fitz's idea."

"Exactly," Adam nodded, picking up Clare's history book and flipping through it. "World History? What the hell could you be learning that's so difficult?" he asked, quirking his eyebrow in confusion.

"Something about the Chinese empire. We don't like them anyways; we're not the United States," Clare replied, shrugging the topic off. She sighed, rubbing her slightly elevated stomach, "If Fitz wants to move in with me and Eli, why is that such a bad thing?"

Adam found the unit of Chinese history and sighed heavily, looking up at Clare. "Clare, just because they're trying to get along for your and the baby's sakes, doesn't mean that they'll be total BFF's like you and Alli." He could not help mocking her.

Clare pounded a gently fist against his bicep, mumbling, "Meanie."

Adam rubbed his arm, whining, "Meanie? You're the one who hit me!"

Clare pouted slightly, "Mocking me isn't nice." She broke out into a smile, as did Adam, and the two started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

Clare looked up intently at Eli and let out nervous laugh, "Nothing." She slowly got up to her feet. "Um… Eli, is… Um…" She cleared her throat, "You and Fitz are getting along great lately and…"

Adam rolled his eyes, cutting Clare off, "Clare wants Fitz to move in with you guys." He stood up, handing Clare her history book.

Eli laughed slightly, shaking his head, and then looked at Clare, who was staring at the ground, clutching her book tightly in her hands.

"Thanks, Adam," Clare mumbled sarcastically, looking up at him with a glare.

Adam shrugged nonchalantly, "No problem." He walked away before she could bring herself to hit him again.

Clare faced Eli with a shy smile, her bangs falling in her face. "You're not mad?" she asked hopefully.

Eli gave her a tired smile, "Just a little." His face softened completely, putting her at ease.

Clare nodded, "Good."

DTNG

Clare groaned, dropping one of the moving boxes on the floor in Eli's room. She stretched, grabbing her back to help the piercing aches. "Okay, I'm done," she sighed heavily, walking by Fitz and Eli, and headed down the hall.

"Where are you going?" Eli asked, furrowing his brow, as he followed her.

"To my room," Clare said, opening the door to the guest room, her eyes wide with irritation. She laughed when he frowned, "You actually thought I was sharing a bed with you both?"She shook her head, walking into her new bedroom. "Wow… That's like a threesome waiting to happen."

Eli shrugged nonchalantly, "You slept with both of us before."

Clare turned around in the doorway, an evil glint in her eyes, as a smirk covered her lips. "Are you guys gonna make out first?" she asked, biting her bottom lip, quickly turning herself on at the thought.

Eli winced at her words, groaning in dismay, "Would I have to?"

Clare threw her head back, still captured in her thoughts, with a soft moan.

Eli's eyes went wide, watching her body lean against the door while withering. Clare reached out, grabbing him by the front of his shirt, and pulled him into her room. She kissed him hard on the lips for a moment before trailing soft bites across his jaw.

Fitz walked down the hall, wondering where Clare and Eli had gone. He sighed heavily, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

Eli laughed softly, looking at the other guy apologetically, as Clare spun him out of the doorway and into her room, slamming the door behind them.

Fitz rolled his eyes. This was exactly why he had moved in and he still got denied.

DTNG

Clare stood over the stove, mixing the pot of what she claimed to be mac n' cheese with a wooden spoon. She had calmed down immediately after one round of sex with Eli and was now starving. She peered into the pot at the mixture, pursing her lips together, and pulled a bottle of ranch out of the fridge. She flipped the top open, starting to pour it in.

"Whoa!" Eli exclaimed, walking up behind her. He snatched the bottle from her hand, closing the top with his thumb.

Clare looked up at him with wide eyes, whining, "Hey! Give it back!"

"What are you doing?" Eli asked, putting the condiment back in the refrigerator.

Clare shrugged nonchalantly, "I'm hungry." She picked up the pot by the handle pouring the mix into a bowl. It looked as if it had been once mac n' cheese, but now, it contained peas, ranch, pickles, bacon bits, and even pieces of blueberries.

Eli plugged his nose in disgust, groaning, "Clare, that's repulsive."

Clare shrugged, taking the bowl to the table, and sat down, "I made it for me. Not you." She looked away from him as she started to eat.

"Okay. The whole point of me moving in is so that I get some sex time too!" Fitz exclaimed, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

Clare looked up at him and then turned away, completely unaltered as she continued to eat.

Eli sighed, rolling his eyes, "Clare wants a threesome and started turning herself on and forced me."

Fitz shook his head, spitting, "Bullshit. She did not force you. You enjoyed it."

Eli smirked, wiggling his eyebrows at Clare, "I didn't say I didn't enjoy it. I just wasn't planning on sleeping with her."

"You are such an asshole!" Clare shouted, looking up at him. "You totally were. You would have walked away as soon as I moaned if you weren't planning on fucking me!" She stood up, brushing past both of the boys, and walked up the stairs to her room, clearly annoyed.

Eli's eyes went wide in disbelief at her reaction, calling after her, "Edwards, chill."

Fitz sighed heavily, "It's a good thing you just had sex with her. Because there's no way you're getting any from her now. You pissed her off too much."

DTNG

Helen sighed heavily, flipping through the stack of mail in her hands as she walked into the dining room. She paused, separating a small envelope addressed as 'The Edwards Family'. She dropped the rest of the mail on the table, sitting down at a chair, as she opened the envelope.

Helen pulled out the two thick pages out of their holding and froze at the sight of Clare sitting in between two boys, their arms wrapped around her daughter; all three were smiling. The space above them read 'Merry Christmas'. She pulled the second picture out from behind the other and her heart stopped. Tears filled her eyes as her fingertips skimmed over the ultrasound picture; a small dot of an embryo showing in the hazy photo. In the top left hand corner read the name 'Edwards, Mary'. She swallowed hard, wiping at her tears.

"Mom?"

Helen looked up at Darcy, holding the two pictures up, "Did you know about this?"

"About what?" Darcy asked in confusion, reaching out to take the photos from her mother.

Helen snatched them away from her daughter, pressing them against her heart as if they could touch her heart, "Darcy Joanne." She struggled not to cry. "You knew Mary was pregnant."

Darcy bit her bottom lip, looking away, "Mom… she works for my boyfriend." She sighed heavily, looking down at her mother. "I thought she was gonna tell you."

"How could you keep this from me!" Helen demanded, tears cascading down her face. "How could she not tell me this!"

Darcy shook her head, pursing her lips together, "Because like it or not, Mom. You're a real bitch about me and Clare and how we act. She doesn't want you to crucify her because she's pregnant. And she doesn't need the stress you'd put on her."

Helen opened her eyes, looking back at the ultrasound, "I-I… I don't mean to hurt either of you."

Darcy nodded, walking over to her mom, and sat on her lap like she did as a child. "We know you don't, but you still do."

Helen looked up at her daughter, finally controlling herself. "You are going to that school and you are talking to your sister."

DTNG

Eli and Clare stood against her locker, their lips pressed together in a desperate kiss. He slid his hands down her arms, grasping her wrists, and pinned her hands above her against the locker. Clare gasped out in shock against his lips while he pressed his body up against hers, smacking her carefully back into the locker.

Clare's eyes clouded with lust, biting her bottom lip as it started to tremble, "My god, you're so fucking hot…"

Eli smirked, lowering his head as he attacked her neck with his mouth.

Clare groaned, arching up against him.

"Clare…"

Clare gasped, quickly shoving Eli off of her, and fixed her disheveled clothes. She blinked in shock, running a hand through her hair. "Darcy?"

Darcy stood there, her arms crossed over her chest, with a smirk. "Why didn't you tell me you're pregnant?" she asked, opening her arms out for her sister.

Clare grinned, rushing into her sister's arms, and held onto her tight. "I thought Peter was going to tell you," she confessed with a shrug.

Darcy shook her head, rubbing her sister's back. "He did. But that gives you no right not to tell me," she stated, pulling back. Her face dropped sadly. "It doesn't give you the right not to tell mom either."

Clare bit her bottom lip in fear at her sister's words. "Mom knows?" she questioned.

Darcy nodded, "Ultrasound came with your Christmas card."

Clare furrowed her brow in confusion, "Christmas card?" When Darcy nodded, the younger girl shook her head. "What Christmas card?"

"The one with you and the two boys who have their arms around you," Darcy explained with a soft laugh, thinking the redhead was messing with her.

Clare shook her head, her blue eyes wide with irritation. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

Darcy huffed, trying not to sound too amused, "Oh, this is gonna be good…"

Clare sighed heavily, opening her locker, and pulled out her coat.

"What are you doing?" Darcy asked in confusion, furrowing her brow.

"I'm going to find Mom," Clare informed, pulling her coat on over her arms and zipping it up. She walked past Darcy and Eli, heading out of the school to find her mother.

DTNG

Clare pulled her old house key out of her purse, shivering from the cold as she tried to place it in the keyhole. Once she finally unlocked the door, she stepped inside, slamming the door behind her to keep the cold out. She shuttered as the warm air surrounded her body.

Clare frowned when she saw her mother sitting on the sofa in their living room, flipping through an old photo album. She stepped closer to the grieving parent, calling softly, "Mom…"

Helen looked up, balling her tissue in her hand, her eyes bloodshot from crying for so long. "Clare," she gasped, moving to stand.

Clare held her hand out to stop her, shaking her head, "No, it's okay."

Helen shook her head in return, grabbing the throw off the couch, as she stood. She walked over to her daughter, wrapping it around the child's shoulders. "You're red in the face and out of breath. You're going to catch a cold from walking out in this weather. That's not good for a baby," she informed, rubbing Clare's shoulders, struggling not to cry.

Clare's eyes welled with tears, placing her hands on top of her mom's. "I know. I just had to see you."

Helen smiled sadly, giving the teenager's hands a squeeze. "Oh, Clare…" She sat in the rocking chair across from the couch, bringing the tissue to her nose.

Clare sighed heavily, closing her eyes, as she tried to put words together in her head before she spoke. She looked back at her mom, suddenly feeling brave at the thought of being a mother herself. "I want your advice," she said softly, as if almost asking for permission to have her own child.

Helen looked up at her daughter shamefully, "No, Clare. I can't give you any advice. You know where I stand on teen pregnancy. I'd want you to give it up. You're too young." She dropped the shriveled tissue onto the floor. She was speaking in future tense; her daughter grew angry, knowing that she was avoiding their situation.

Clare shook her head, speaking defensively, "But I can. I'm not a kid."

Helen shook her head, her heart breaking, "But you are a kid, Clare. You're a beautiful, sweet little girl. You shouldn't have put yourself into this situation."

Clare's eyes narrowed in anger, her heart racing, "Well maybe you shouldn't be so ignorant to your children when it comes to sex. You didn't even go into detail the one time we talk about sex!" She threw her arms in the air dramatically. "You never said how my body would shake and my mouth wouldn't be able to speak out to him about what I want to say and that I would feel this warm, tingly feeling all over when a boy would take my hand and put it…"

Helen shook her head, covering her ears in ignorance, "I'm not hearing this from you, Mary Clare!" She stood up and started to walk away.

"That's right, Mom! Walk away when you can't handle it! Just like you did with Daddy!" Clare shouted after her, tears of hate burning in her eyes as her body shook with emotion. When Helen turned around, her daughter sighed, gripping her side as a sharp pain slowly snaked its way through her abdomen, "But I can't just ignore the fact that something is wrong."

Helen swallowed her pride, demanding only one thing of her daughter, "Then tell me who the father is. I know it's one of those boys in the picture with you. Which one is he?"

Clare gulped hard, turning pale, and tightening her hold on her side as the pain intensified. She opened her eyes, breathing out heavily, while pushing the sting into the back of her mind, "I don't know. I… I was sleeping with two boys and…"

Helen cut her off, shouting, "First you decide to have sex and get pregnant; then you decide to tell me it was with two boys! Who is this tramp standing in front of me?" She struggled not to cry, covering her mouth with her hand, her heart breaking at the image before her, "What happened to my perfect daughter?"

Clare wheezed, closing her eyes as pain overwhelmed her. She started trembling as if to control herself from doubling over. "Mom…"

"Don't come back here until you bring her back!" Helen snapped coldly, cutting the child off.

Clare shook her head, looking up at the woman before her, while circling her arms around her stomach. She felt the pain stab through her entire body, causing tears to fall from her eyes. She leaned forward, doubling over in pain. Her eyes went wide in fear, gasping for any bit of air she could take in. Her whole body shook violently as she broke out into hysterics, "M-mom… i-it… it hurts… Oh my god… it… hurts… It hurts! It hurts! Make it sto…" She trailed off, barely breathing. She dropped her head, her knees buckling, as she gave into the pain. She collapsed on the floor, her body immediately going limb when it connected with the hardwood floor, as the blanket rested over her head as if to protect her mother from the girl in front of her.

DTNG

Fitz sighed heavily, running his hands through his hair, as he leaned forward in his chair. He closed his eyes, fighting back any sign of emotion, afraid to show his softer side if Clare was not before him. They had been at the hospital for several hours now and while Clare had been fading in and out of consciousness all night, she had refused to see anyone every time she had woken up; and it killed him.

Eli stood in a corner, his hands shoved into his pockets, with his head hung low. He closed his eyes when tears sprung into them again, wiping any sign of weakness from his eyes, only to smudge at his eyeliner. He should have told Clare not to go; he should have stopped her; grabbed her by the arm, hand, elbow, wrist, something; he should have taken her in his arms and kissed her; anything that could have prolonged her visit with her bitch of a mother. He felt his depression burn into hatred.

Eli could not control himself as he stalked over to Helen. He pointed at her, shouting in her face, his voice venomous, "Get the fuck out!"

Helen looked up at him from where she sat crying, her puffy eyes full of horror at the boy before her.

"Elijah!" Ethan snapped at his son warningly.

"No!" Eli shouted, looking up at his father. "She did this! She is the reason why Clare is here! The reason she's passed out, hooked up to some oxygen tank to keep her and my baby alive!"

"I don't care whose fault it is. You show Helen some respect, she's Clare's mother," Ethan stated sternly. While he felt sympathetic for his son, he also understood Helen's feelings towards their situation and that this was her daughter in the hospital. Fifteen years old, pregnant, and unconscious in a hospital bed.

"She doesn't deserve any respect from me! She's not Clare's mother! She's not a mother at all!" Eli exclaimed, frantic with his words. "Mom was a kind, gentle, loving person even when she was sixteen and I was born. Don't compare this bitch to her." With that, he walked away, heading down the hall to check on Clare.

Helen looked down, shoving her face in her hands in embarrassment as she shook with sobs. Eli's words hit her hard and she knew he was right. She should not be here; she did not deserve to be here. She caused her daughter so much pain that she had literally lost her consciousness – her mind. And as a mother, the person who knew Clare before she was even born, it killed her.

DTNG

Eli walked up to the window, showing Clare's room, as he wiped his eyes, eyeliner now smeared down the sides of his face. His face suddenly brightened at the sight of her eyes opened. He walked through her opened door and sat in the chair beside her bed, whispering, "Hi."

Clare did not look up at him or reply. She just laid there at an awkwardly propped angle, staring at the wall opposite her with emotionless tears. She fluttered her eyes in exhaustion, her nails scratching at the I.V. suck in her wrist. Her nose twitched as if it would remove the oxygen tubes from inside her nose.

Eli sighed heavily, his face dropping. He scooted his chair to the edge of the bed and took her hand in both of his. He blinked, surprised at how cold her pale skin felt even with the heat on and her warm blankets wrapped around her. "The baby's okay," he assured, rubbing her hand gently between both of his.

Clare took in a deep breath and then coughed as the tubes rubbed against the inside of her nose uncomfortably. Her eyes flicked a glance at him, but she other than the subtle movement, her body stayed still. She closed her eyes, gripping his hand in hers.

Eli leaned into to kiss her, whispering, "Clare…"

Clare took in a sharp breath as his soft lips brushed slightly against her chapped skin. She felt her body stiffen, yet ease filled her mind. She slowly relaxed, pressing her lips back against his gently. He pulled back, causing her to whimper. He sighed, carefully pulling her forward, and then moved behind her. She closed her eyes as she leaned back against his chest comfortably. He wrapped his arms around her waist, laying them gently on her stomach as if to remind her of the child; the child who was still alive and needed her so dearly. She placed her hands on top of his, completely at ease, as she fell back to sleep.