So I only wanted to post one chapter per week, but I was too excited to see what you guys thought of the next part. Thanks for the reviews and please continue to do so.

Chapter 2

She spent the week working on her essay, truly pouring her soul into it. It felt awkward being willing to share that part of herself with anyone, especially Eli. But she knew that it was time to open up herself to her writing if she was ever going to make a career out of it.

When Saturday finally rolled around, she thought it was as ready as it ever would be. Still, Eli never told her what time he would be over, so she was in her uber-casual t-shirt and shorts when there was a knock at the door.

"Well don't get all gussied up for me, Edwards," he said, nodding to her wardrobe.

"Why are you such a misogynistic chauvinist?"

"I don't hate women. I love them. Just not ball-busting prudes."

"You don't know anything about me!" she snapped.

"Which is even more than you know about me!" he countered. In the five seconds that he had been standing in her doorway, they were hot and ready to tear at each other's throats. Then a loud beep interrupted their confrontation. Eli sniffed in the air. "You made popcorn?"

"I didn't know what time you'd be here, so I thought I'd just have it ready," Clare said, heading to the microwave.

"Well I can see you clearly have an excellent perception of the teenage male appetite."

"That you're all bottomless pits who are constantly dying of starvation?"

"Exactly. Now what have you got to drink?" he responded, heading to the kitchen.

"Please, come in," she said sarcastically, slamming the door behind her.

"Got any beer?" he asked, approaching the refrigerator. Clare walked over to the fridge and grabbed him a coke while she rolled her eyes. He shrugged. "I guess it'll have to do."

"Well I highly doubt that my extremely moral and Christian mother would have anything other than red wine, let alone allow me and an underage boy drink it when she's not home," Clare stated.

"You're mom isn't home?"

"Nope. She hasn't been around as much since she and my dad got divorced. Something about feeling liberated or whatever."

Eli somehow managed to shrug with his eyebrows, which was something only he seemed to be capable of. "That sucks."

"At least she remembers that I exist some of the time. That's more than I can say for my dad," she added while grabbing the popcorn bowl from a cabinet. "Can we just get to our essays already? I'd kind of like to get this over with."

"I think that's the first time we've ever been able to agree on something," he said as he unzipped his backpack. He sat down at the table and grabbed Clare's essay, sliding his own to her. He chewed on a handful of popcorn and began to read.

Clare followed suit.

At fifteen I was fortunate enough to meet the love of my life. She was beautiful and perfect in every way. After a few short months of being the happiest I have ever been, she was taken from me. The worst experience I've ever had was when my girlfriend died; and I'm the one who killed her.

Clare made a frown as she continued to read. Eli was surprisingly nervous as to what her reaction would be and began to focus on her facial expressions. His story went on about the wonderful times they had shared together and how he blamed himself for her death. It was brutally honest and real and she could tell that for a long time, he truly hated himself.

"Well?" he said when she looked up.

She stared at him for a moment, not exactly sure what to say before finally settling on, "there were a few grammatical errors and you could really work on your transitions a bit and-" she stopped. He continued to stare at her with his eyebrows raised. She sighed. "I'm sorry."

He wasn't sure what she meant- if it was for her lack of sensitivity or if she was sorry about him losing Julia- but he nodded.

"I didn't know you had girlfriend last summer. Is that why you started wearing black all the time and driving the hearse?"

"Morty's not just a hearse. He's an escape."

Clare half-smiled. "I know what it's like to need something like that." They sat in silence for a moment before she continued. "What did you think of mine?"

"Oh right." Eli hadn't realized that he didn't even begin to read her essay.

Some might say that you aren't capable of falling in love at fourteen and most would say that it's the best experience of your life if you do. What those people don't realize is that it can also be the worst. I fell for Liam immediately and we were inseparable. I never thought myself able to feel so strongly about anyone. When he told me he didn't love me anymore, I became so lost. There was no reason for it. He didn't move away. He didn't cheat or fall in love with someone else. He just didn't want me. I was completely unlovable. Most girls would cower in this situation and become puddles of despair. I chose to take the opportunity to find myself and learn to love me more than anybody.

Clare's story continued on to tell the tale of her self-discovery and how she became empowered by getting dumped. It was her worst experience but it allowed her to be the best version of herself.

"Wow, I guess I really didn't know as much about you as I thought," he admitted.

"Thanks." She sat curled up across from him in her chair, clearly feeling vulnerable. "So any criticisms?"

"Actually, no. I was really hoping to be able to tear it apart, believe me; but I think it's a perfect representation of you. It's great, Clare."

She sighed. "No it's not."

He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Ok, you have no idea how difficult it was for me to compliment you just now. So if you're just fishing-" he began to argue.

"No!" she said, though not defensively this time. "I just mean, I wish I could write about my parents. That's really the worst thing to happen to me, but I can't find the strength to open up about it."

"Oh."

"First my sister left us, then my dad. Now my mom starts dating again and she's never home. I don't even know any of the guys she's going out with. Liam was just the first person to leave me, but he definitely wasn't the worst."

Eli listened and was surprised that he didn't feel awkward. He really just wanted to help her. And Clare certainly shocked herself at finally being able to open up about everything, especially with Eli. "Clare, they didn't leave you. They just moved on."

"Same difference," she said. She got up and moved over to the couch, curling back up into a ball in the corner. He waited a second and thought about leaving, but decided to join her instead. When he sat down on the other side of the couch, Clare asked, "Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

He didn't just feel sorry for her having to be alone. He was actually curious about her now and kind of interested to see what she would pick out. "Sure," although he was still a little hesitant.

"I'll order a pizza. My mom left me some money for tonight." She grabbed her phone and they eventually settled on Garden State.

"That's one of my favorite movies," he replied.

"Mine too," she smiled.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you smile before."

"I don't think you've ever let me before," and her smile grew wider.

A while later, the movie ended and the screen faded out. They had managed to survive the afternoon together without killing one another. In fact, they ended up hanging out. Eli got up to grab his bag and jacket.

"So, I'm supposed to hang out with Adam and some of the guys. We got the UFC match on pay per view."

Clare smiled again, "Sounds like a riveting evening of masculinity."

He laughed. "Yeah. Listen, um… truce?"

She knew exactly what he meant. "Sure… for now." They both smiled before he walked out the door.