A/N: Yay! New chapter! We worked so hard on this chapter and the next, and we wanted to put them up together. Sorry for the delay! (;

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Degrassi or any of it's characters, we're simply borrowing them.

SUMMARY

Elijah yearns for any way out; a trapped door that allows him to dodge the scorching knives whipped at his heart. But when she enters his world, that escape slips through his fingers, and the complicated story of his life begins to unfold. Little does Elijah know that there will be more than just ripped pages detracting from his tattered book.

99 PROBLEMS:

Bright, streaky sunlight poured into my dark bedroom, awaking me. As I pried my eyes open, the scene before me came into focus. My entire family stood around my bed, staring.

My mother breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you okay, sweetie? We've been trying to wake you up! You were screaming so loudly, Elijah, we thought something happened to you!"

Confusion racked my brain. Yet again, I felt like they all knew something I didn't. What could I have possibly been yelling about? My thoughts travelled back to last night. That had been the first night since Julia died that I actually slept through. I remembered falling asleep, and then a big blank. Usually, I could remember my dreams.

"Sorry." I mumbled. I knew my father would make a smart comment about my unconscious meltdown, so I figured I'd just apologize first.

"Seth, stay home with your brother today. I need you to keep an eye on him." He said, shooting me nervous glances.

"Still think there's nothing wrong with him?" My mother hissed at him as they exited my bedroom. I probably wasn't supposed to hear.

"I am really fucking worried about you, Eli." Seth quietly shut my bedroom door and sat down on my bed next to me.

"Oh." I didn't want to look at him. My eyes trained on the black and gray patterned bed spread.

"I'm not even kidding. You're on your way to a psychotic break, Eli. You know your teacher called Mom yesterday, even she's concerned about your current mental status."

"Why?" I knew why, I just wanted to hear him say it. I wanted to hear him say 'Because you're bat-shit insane'. It would have made me feel so much better if everyone just said what they thought.

"What else, besides Julia, is bothering you? Don't tell me nothing like you always do, because there's obviously something else." He changed the subject.

"I can't tell you." If my parents found out, or her parents found out, that'd be it.

"You're being ridiculous, Eli."

"No, I really can't tell you, Seth."

"I'm leaving for work; I'll drop Piper off at school; she has an afternoon class today. Be good, boys." My mother suddenly popped her head into the bedroom, blowing us each a kiss. Kindergarten classes at Degrassi Elementary were split into two shifts; the morning class from eight to eleven, and the afternoon class from twelve to three. Piper liked to alternate between the classes.

"Bye, Mom." Seth waved. I stared at the blanket some more.

"I'm trying to help you." He said as soon as my mother re-closed the door.

"I don't think you can." I slowly stood up off the bed and trudged down the hall and into the bathroom.

I quickly undressed and hopped in the shower. The burning-hot water assaulted my skin as it saturated my dark hair. I went through my entire shower routine. I ran my hands through my hair with shampoo, I washed my body, and then stepped out.

My thumb flicked off the light, and I stood in the center of the bathroom, waiting for the steam to clear. I always turned a task as simple as taking a shower into a half-hour ordeal.

Once I was near certain that all of the condensation had evaporated, I grabbed a towel out of the basket and wrapped it around my waist as I flipped the lights back on. My refection stared back at me from the mirror. My deep, jade eyes were cloudy and distant. My soaked hair stuck to my cheeks. Dark, purple circles sat underneath my eyes, giving me a crazed look.

I turned away from the mirror and padded back down the hallway to my bedroom. I hastily dried off and dressed in a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans, and a black hoodie. It was raining outside, and I had no one to impress. My feet slid themselves into a pair of slip-on Vans, and I made my way back down stairs.

"I'm going out with Adam." I croaked to Seth.

A wicked smirk fell over his face. "Are you hiding something from me, Eli?" I cocked my head to the side. Confusion clouded my thoughts. Obviously, Seth caught on. "No wonder why you're so pale, there's no sun in the closet!"

"You're an ass." I rolled my eyes, after all that happened these past few days with relationships; he had the nerve to question my sexuality. "I'm just going to meet him at The Dot and I'll probably crash at his house."

"Take these." He threw me a bottle of aspirins and a chocolate chip Quaker Oats granola bar. I used to love those granola bars when I was younger. "Just in case I can't rush to your rescue… and you should really eat something."

I reluctantly shoved both in my jean pocket. "You're not going to make me stay here?"

"I trust you. And anyway, I have plans with Darcy." Seth narrowed his eyes.

Something inside me snapped. "Why are you even with her, Seth? All she ever does is bitch and complain over every little fucking thing!"

"I thought you said you liked Darcy. What the hell is up with you?" He jumped off the stool he was sitting on, ready to defend the girl who stole my brother.

"I changed my mind." I scoffed defiantly.

"I'm trying to help you, Eli. I really am, but now you're just crossing the line. Maybe Mom and Dad should get you checked out."

"What 'line' am I crossing? Huh Seth? Because you cross my lines all the freaking time!" My head buzzed with nonsense as I yelled something I had no control of. It was like my mouth took over everything else.

"The line where you start bashing my fiancée, that's the line, Eli." He took a step towards me.

"You proposed?" I screeched.

"You came with me to buy the ring!"

"I didn't think you actually would!"

"I wasn't spending six-hundred dollars for nothing, Eli!"

"I really thought you respected me more than that, Seth."

"What are you talking about?"

"It has been six days since Julia died and you got engaged. Life sure is fucking great for you, isn't it?"

Seth stared at me with a dumbfounded expression painted all over his face. "You need help, Eli."

"Goodbye, Seth."

"Have fun on your date." He called after me.

I scoffed and hastily exited the house through the front door, immediately pulling my phone out of my sweatshirt's front pouch and I dialed Adam's number.

"Hey man, where are you?" He answered, his voice hushed and muffled.

"Are you in class yet?"

"Use your brain, Eli." He scoffed sarcastically.

"Can you meet me at The Dot?"

"Uh, yeah. What's up?"

"I just need to talk to someone."

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know."

"I'll be there as soon as I can get out of study hall. I'll ask Perrino for a hall pass or something." Adam was very bold. He wasn't afraid to answer his cellphone during class, or wear some of the ridiculous outfits he throws together like he's the trendiest student at Degrassi.

"Okay. Uh, bye." I hit the end button and clenched my fist around my phone as I entered the small café.

"Skipping again, Eli? If you ditch one more time, Simpson will hold you back!" Adam joked as he slid into the booth.

"It's not funny, Adam."

"What's up with you?"

"I, uh, I'm really fucked up."

Adam let out a heavy sigh. "What happened?"

"I keep doing these things that I don't even realize I'm doing. I can't think straight, I can't see straight, I can't even write anymore!"

"You've lost your literary mojo?"

"No, Adam. I literally can't write!" I pulled the crumpled piece of paper that I had saved from yesterday out of my pocket. "Look." I slid it across the table to him.

He looked at me skeptically as he unfolded the half sheet of paper. His eyes widened. "Why am I looking at a paper full of doodles?"

"It's my biography on that girl in English."

"You're joking, right?"

"That's not even the first time it's happened, Adam! And my head just buzzes constantly with random words and thoughts and they all crash into each other to the point of unrecognizability. My brain is like a jig-saw puzzle and all of the pieces are scattered all over the floor and I can't get them back into the right order!" My fist beat the table.

"Calm down." Adam slammed his hands down on top of my arms. "It's probably just the drama of Julia's death getting to you."

We stayed silent for a few moments. Adam was probably contemplating whether he should turn me over to the white coats. I was trying to ignore my racing head. My fingers drummed on the table.

"What happen this morning?" He asked curiously. Adam had known me for a long time. We had been friends since grade one. He just knew when something was up with me.

"I got into a fight with Seth." I sighed.

"Over what?"

"Darcy."

"His girlfriend?"

"Do you know another?"

"No need to be a smartass, Elijah Reid. What about her?"

"He's marrying her!"

"Good for him! What's the problem?"

"Julia's dead, Adam. It's not fair."

"The world isn't going to stop because your girlfriend died. I'm sorry if I sound insensitive or whatever. I'm not trying to be a dick, Julia was my friend too."

"He still should have had the decency to wait a little bit longer than six fucking days."

"Eli, everyone is still moving forward. The world is still spinning; it just doesn't stop because one fifteen year old girl dropped off the planet. Get it through your head. You need to move on, too. You can't sit and wallow in the past; it's literally driving you insane." I couldn't believe him.

"Can we talk about something else, please?"

"Fine, er, how's it going between you and Piper?" He stumbled over her name like she was the unmentionable.

"I scare the shit out of her. How do you think it's going?

"Well, I meant, is there anything new?"

"She told me she missed me yesterday."

"Really? I guess that's good, right? A man is not a man without his six year old sister!"

"I think she's only said it because she's afraid of me… God, I really wish I could remember what happened between me and her." I looked deep into my memories… nothing.

"Oh, uh…" Adam awkwardly turned his head away from me. "Oh, hey! Waiter! Can you get us some drinks? I'll take a vanilla shake, and he'll have a raspberry iced tea." He shouted at the busboy that stood next to our table.

"Do you know something I don't?"

"What would, uh, make you think that?" He nervously chuckled as his eyes darted around the café.

"Because you're acting all fidgety, Adam."

"I don't know anything, dude. That's your family, not mine, remember?" He unconvincingly lied.

I couldn't deal with Adam anymore. I had enough of him for today. I yanked two dollars out of my pocket and slammed them down on the table. "I'll see you later."

"Eli! Come on!" I heard him shout after me. I kept walking. My hands shoved themselves into my jean pockets as my sneakers hit the sidewalk. I walked a step quicker than my normal pace. I just wanted to get away from there. I wanted to get away from it all.

"Eli, Eli, Eli. You know what you have to do." My heart pounded in my ears as the familiar voice persuadably whispered.

Flashbacks from my dark days played in my head. My father's disappointment radiated through my thoughts, paralyzing my ability to think straight. Everything felt numb as I trudged in the direction of the old park.

I could almost hear the mass collision of scattered puzzle pieces that ravaged my screwed up brain.