Hello guys! Thanks for everything. This is the second part of the previous chapter! (Just cause you guys wanted it so badly!) Also, thank you to the people who pointed out my mistake. I sorta knew sorta didn't know whether the title was actually Prelude 12/21. I decided to go with the safer choice that some people refer to the song as (despite it being incorrect.) I'll probably change it sometime in the future, after editing my other works. (By the way, this came out way longer than expected!)

Please Enjoy Part Two!

When Clare was ready to leave, she noticed that her mother was still in her night robe, staring intently at her cup of coffee.

"Mom?" She called worriedly. Her mother's head snapped up to stare at her daughter. She stood slowly and stepped over to her daughter. She pulled her into a hug and gave her back a small pat.

"Have fun in school, Clare." She whispered before pulling away.

"Where's dad?" Clare had noticed her father wasn't present when she turned away from her mom. Her mother's eyes turned steely and her posture turned rigid.

"He…left for work early." Clare felt a funny feeling pass through her. Something was wrong.

"Are we still going out for dinner?" Clare asked, suddenly remembering that Wednesday nights they all went out to eat. Her mother smiled sadly.

"Probably not, sweetie. Your father will be working late and I need to go…see a friend." Clare nodded slowly as she walked out of her home. Something was definitely wrong. Her mother was literally depressed and her father was distant.

Clare's grip was tight on her bag's straps as she waited for Alli to show. Alli and Clare always met up before school.

Clare was surprised to see Alli running straight for her. Suddenly, Alli jumped on her, knocking them both over onto the street.

"Alli!" Clare exclaimed. "What's wrong with you? Are you crazy?" Clare shouted, somewhat annoyed. She was thankful that no one was around. Alli giggled and quickly jumped up, lending her friend a hand. Clare took it and dusted herself off, glaring at her best friend.

"Sorry, Clare! I just have awesome news! Drew and I-" She stopped and her eyes locked on Clare's neck.

Clare looked down at herself and noticed that Alli was staring at the silver headphones wrapped around her neck.

"Aren't those Eli's headphones?" Alli asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. Clare laughed nervously.

"N-No…" But Alli wasn't convinced.

"Sharing items with the new guy, are we Clare?" Clare rolled her eyes, but her face flushed nonetheless.

"I-It was to drown out t-the noise." She sputtered weakly in protest. Alli's brow furrowed.

"What noise?" She asked. Clare froze. She hadn't told anyone but Eli so far about her parents'…problem. Clare sighed, realizing she couldn't hide it from her best friend.

"My parents aren't getting along. They've actually been fighting…a lot." She admitted. Alli froze, her happy demeanor slowly fading.

"Whoa, for real? I'm so sorry, Clare. I've been a bad friend. I-I didn't realize-" Alli started to apologize when Clare cut her off.

"It is fine, Alli. You have your own life to worry about." Clare tried to smile, but Alli still looked upset.

"You know, if something goes wrong, you can always come to my place. Can't guarantee that I'll be alone though." She added with a wink in an attempt to make light of their current situation. Clare smiled. Alli quickly linked her arm though Clare's and dragged her to school, chatting amiably about her recent crush.

When they reached the main hall, they parted to go to their own lockers. Clare walked steadily down the hallways until she reached her locker. She was happy that she could finally tell Alli about her troubles at home. It seemed that the two had been drifting apart and this seemed to pull them back a bit.

"Hey." The sudden voice that came from behind her startled the girl. She turned around to see the one person she had wanted to avoid all day.

She gaped up at Eli her face flushing from her very vivid dream. He smirked and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Usually it takes a lot more than word one to make your face turn that pretty strawberry color. And 'hey' isn't in that list of words." She gave a nervous laugh.

"Uhh…umm…good morning." She managed to stutter out. After retrieving her books, she closed her locker.

"So, did they come in handy?" He asked. She was about to question what he meant, but when he tapped the headphone, his finger slightly grazing her neck, she froze.

"Are you okay, Clare?" He asked, concern lacing his tone. She snapped out of her reverie and nodded, a little too enthusiastically. She unwrapped the headphones from her neck and handed them to him.

"They actually did. It was practically World War III in my house." She added, trying to make a joke. But he didn't laugh. He just nodded and turned, leading her to class.

"Glad I could be of assistance." He added a smile that made Clare's heart flutter.

"Y-Yeah." She agreed weakly. The two headed into English together and sat down in their designated seats, waiting for class to begin.

"So, what did you listen to?" He asked, turning to her. She bit at her lower lip.

"AFI. Ever heard of them?" She asked. A part of her hoping he would say no. But he smirked and nodded.

"Yeah. They have some decent songs. Though I wouldn't expect you to listen to them." She rolled her eyes.

"Does that upset you?" She asked, her voice teasing. Her dream resurfaced and she found herself wanting to look away, but unable to.

"No. I'm actually pleasantly surprised." He gave her a smile and she felt her heart stop.

This boy is going to be the death of me. She thought as a woman walked through the doors. Clare frowned as the woman announced that she would be a substitute. She started to write her name on the board. Clare wanted to groan when the sub announced silent reading.

Instead of grabbing her textbook, Clare rested her head on the desk and let her eyes close.

I'll just close my eyes for a little bit. She told herself, falling deeper into unconsciousness.

"Clare." She heard her voice calling her name. She felt a smile pull at her lips. It was Eli. "Wake up." Just like in her dream last night…

Clare's eyes snapped open as she felt a finger glide her cheek. She sat up and looked around. Eli was smirking smugly down at her.

"Class is over." He said. "Sorry that I had to disrupt that sweet little dream of yours." She rubbed her sore cheek and grabbed her bag, heading out the door. She was still in a daze. But her dream was haunting her.

"Was it good?" He asked with a grin.

"Was what good?" She asked, a little gruffly. He chuckled.

"Your dream." He stated. She rolled her eyes. "Because the way you sighed my name before I woke you up-"

"Wait, what?" She shouted, earning strange looks from other students. "I did not sigh your name." She glared. He shrugged nonchalantly.

"I know what I heard." He replied. "Have fun in class, Clare." She gritted her teeth and stalked into her next class, the few she had without Eli. This dream was driving her mad.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur until lunch finally arrived. She sat at her usual spot, under the tree by the entrance.

She tried not to blush when Eli took his usual seat beside her. The two ate in silence until Eli spoke up.

"Is something bothering you? Something you're not telling me?" He asked, somewhat confused. "You've been acting strange all day." She sighed, feeling bad. She wasn't being fair to Eli.

"Just a dream I had last night. Nothing to worry about." She tried to reply nonchalantly, but he could see her flushed expression.

"What was it about? " He asked, genuinely curious. She bit her lip. She was a terrible liar and she knew it. Could she pull off this pretense?

"Nothing of interest." She knew she had failed when he gave her that look.

"Try me." He challenged. She sighed, exasperated.

"No, it's private." She finally decided to go in a new direction. She decided to remain quiet. His eyebrows shot up, disappearing behind his bangs.

"Oh, really?" He asked his tone suggestive. Her face and neck grew hot.

"Yes, really." She finally decided to take her leave. If she stayed any longer, her dream might become a reality. She stood up and turned to leave, but his hand caught her wrist. She turned around to see him smirking up at her, mirth dancing behind his bright green eyes.

"If I'm correct, and I usually am, then I know what you dreamed about. And if I am right, then my dream undoubtedly topped yours." He muttered, dead serious. He slowly made his way up, until he was face to face with her, their breath mingling. Clare stood, unable to break eye contact. Eli did this to her. He made her paralyzed. His lips practically grazed hers before he pulled away. Then, he released Clare's wrist abruptly and resumed eating his lunch.

Clare stood, dumbfounded. As she turned and walked away, thoughts raced through her mind. Did Eli know what she dreamed about? If he did, which was what Clare was starting to believe, than what did he mean by his dream 'undoubtedly' topping hers. Was his dream similar to hers? Or worse did his dream delve deeper. It hurt Clare's brain to think about it too much.

Press some of those buttons down there. Pretty please?

~S.S.