I didn't even remember what I was dreaming about; I just knew that it was better than my life right now. My phone was literally going off every few seconds, meaning someone was that desperate to get a hold of me. I walked over to my desk, where I had thrown my phone last night, and picked it up. I flipped it open to read the notifications. I had seven text messages and ten missed calls. Looking at the text messages, I noticed they were all from Fitz, except for two. Those were from Alli. I deleted all the ones from Fitz, and didn't even bother looking at them. I opened up the ones from Alli and read them.

Hey, u nvr called so I was wondering if ur 'rents gave u an answer?

-Alli

R u okay? Figured u would've called by now. Gave Adam & Eli ur email 4 English. Checkit.

-Alli

K about email. Yeah. I'm fine. Parents surprised Jake & me w/ them going away. Jake's going 2. Flipped at them. Srry. I'll call u ltr about 2nite.

-Clare

I flipped the phone shut, and tossed it on the nightstand. Sitting down at my desk, I opened my laptop. Finding that I had an email, which was from Eli.

Hey, Adam was wondering when you wanted to get together to work on the essays.

I was about to respond when I got an instant message from him.

Eli_Gold_49: Hey, do you want to get together to work on the essays today?

Me: I don't know if I can. My family is leaving today.

Why did I just tell him that? I didn't even tell Fitz, and now I am telling his enemy? This is going to come back at me. I know it.

Eli_Gold_49: Where are you going?

Me: I'm not going anywhere. Jake and his dad are going into the States, to work on a house renovation. My mom decided to go with.

Eli_Gold_49: Why aren't you going?

Me: My mom thought it would be best if I stayed here. Since they will be gone until Wednesday and I just started school at Degrassi.

Eli_Gold_49: So you are going to let that stop you from working with us on homework?

Me: Well, I just don't think that it's a good idea.

Eli_Gold_49: Fitz?

Me: What?

Eli_Gold_49: Is your reason, Fitz?

Me: What if it is?

Eli_Gold_49: Well then I would say that, whatever he has told you about us, is a lie. And that he controls you too much.

Me: Fitz doesn't control or lie to me.

Eli_Gold_49: Okay. Well then come work on essays with us.

Eli_Gold_49: Unless Fitz decides for you?

I chewed on my lip. I didn't know what to say. Eli and Adam seemed okay, but what Fitz has said definitely makes them sketchy. Plus the conversation that I overheard in English, proved, at least, some of what Fitz had said was true. I may have lied to Eli about Fitz controlling me, but I was working on that. But one thing is for sure, Fitz doesn't lie to me. I also don't want to cause more trouble with Fitz, especially now that my family is gone for a week. But I don't want Eli to get suspicious about anything either.

Me: Okay. Where?

Eli_Gold_49: What's easier for you?

Me: Be right back.

I got up from my desk, and walked out of my room. I headed downstairs, and looked around. I didn't see or hear anyone in the house. Looking out the window, I noticed both cars were gone. I was about to return upstairs, when I noticed a note hanging on the door. I pulled it off and read it.

Yourfather, brother, andIwantedtogetanearlystart. Weleftsomemoneyforyouwithyourfather. Ifyouneedanythinglethimknow. Ihavediscussedthesituationwithhim, andhecouldn'tstaywithyou. Pleasefindsomeonetostaywith. MarkFitzgeraldisnotallowedintothehouse. Loveyou.

Sincerely, YourMom

Discussed the situation with him usually meant yelled at until he agreed. She hasn't had a decent conversation with him since before the divorce. I also knew she put Fitz's whole name on there, because she used to just use Mark on the notes, which I took advantage of. Saying that I didn't invite Mark over, I invited Fitz. Knowing they already left was a sigh of relief but I knew if Fitz did one of his drive-bys he would realize that I was home alone. I either needed someone's car in the driveway or me not to be home. With that thought, I climbed the stairs and entered my room.

Eli_Gold_49: Okay.

Me: Do you guys want to come over my house?

Eli_Gold_49: Is your family okay with that?

Me: They already left.

Eli_Gold_49: Okay. What's your address?

I gave them my address and closed my laptop. I ended up giving them my cell phone number in case they couldn't find my house. Knowing they were coming over, made me feel better. I didn't really want to be alone right now, and it was hours before Alli and Jenna wanted me to come over. I decided to change into new clothes because they were the same clothes from school the day before. I picked up my phone after I finished changing, and dialed Alli's number.

"Hey, Clare." Alli answered the phone.

"Hey, Alli." I replied. "I was just calling you to let you know that I can come over tonight."

Alli's voice jumped an octave. "Great! We'll see you at six."

"Okay. I have to go right now though. Trying to finish my assignments for Monday." I agreed.

"See you soon! Bye Clare." Alli chimed.

"Bye Alli." I said before closing my phone.

I headed downstairs, just as the doorbell rang. I ran to the door, to open it and saw Eli and Adam standing there. They had their backpacks slung over their shoulders, as they entered my house.

"Hey." I greeted shyly.

"So, is Fitzy boy lurking around here somewhere?" Eli asked glancing around my living room.

"No. He's probably at his house. Why?" I asked confused.

"Figured he wouldn't allow you to be alone with us. Whether or not he controls you." Eli smirked.

"He doesn't control me. Plus he doesn't know you're here." I said, knowing that sounded bad.

"So if he doesn't control you than why doesn't he know we're here?" He asked, his smirk growing.

"Because he doesn't need to know everything about me." I retorted. He kept his smirk as we started pulling out our English binders from our backpacks.

"So, our assignment is Romeo and Juliet." Adam said taking the film package out of his bag.

"What do the essays need to be about?" I asked confused.

"After reviewing the play you have been given, discuss with your group and decide, what the play's ending should've been, in relation to the actual ending. Type a two-page essay that shows the details of your ending. Make sure to use facts to support your answer." Adam said reading from his notebook. "Ms. Dawes went over it four times in class, and it was written on the board. Were you paying attention?"

"Not really." I replied sheepishly.

"What were you doing then? I thought I saw you taking notes." Adam asked.

I hesitated. Fitz was the only one that knew I wrote. He told me, I should keep it to myself because most people think it's stupid. "I—I was writing."

"Cool. I write too." Eli agreed nonchalantly. I smiled at his comment and embarrassingly looked away. "What do you write about?"

"Mainly fan fiction type stuff. But I recently have been starting to write my own stories." I said without thinking. Oh crap. Why did I just tell him that?

"Awesome. I tend to write horror stories and plays." He said.

"Plays? As in school plays?" I asked.

"I'm the director." He nodded. I knew I was blushing, from meeting his eyes, and I was hoping that it wasn't noticeable. I looked away just in case, and focused on the essay.

"That's great." I said, trying to focus. "So, umm, what do you guys think the play's ending should've been?"

"I don't think that we should change it too much. Shakespeare's work was definitely portrayed correctly." Eli stated.

"Okay. So what should be changed?" Adam asked.

"Well. Let's go over the ending." I requested, picking up the playwright. "Okay. So, when Romeo finds Juliet pretending to be dead he can't wait to start his new life with her—"

"And when it looks like she is really dead, he can't go on, and morosely drinks the poison." Eli stated.

"But then Juliet wakes up and finds Romeo dead, and kills herself." I finished, while stupidly acting out the stabbing.

"I think that Romeo would require a few minutes before the poison kicked in." Eli replied, meeting my eyes.

"You make a valid point. He does die pretty hastily. What if Juliet were to wake up and find him alive for a brief moment?" I asked. Why was he looking at me like that?

"They could share a final kiss." Eli replied nervously. Why was he nervous?

"Yeah—Yeah. I think that could work." I agreed I couldn't look him in the eyes, while he smirked at me. When I glanced back up he was staring in my eyes. I was speechless, and I didn't know why.

"That's cute." Adam cut in awkwardly.

Eli and I stared into each other's eyes for a second longer, before I smiled and looked down. I focused on the work in front of us and blushed deeply.

"So, are we going to use that as the ending?" I asked nervously.

"Sounds good." Adam agreed.

I was just picking up my pencil, when my phone went off. I picked it up off the coffee table and flipped it open. It was Fitz. I couldn't answer my phone with Adam and Eli in my house. Fitz would surely scream at me. So, I immediately hit ignore, and shut my phone again. I started to get back to work, but I noticed Adam and Eli staring at me.

"Who was that?" Adam asked.

"Fitz." I said, uneasily.

"Why didn't you answer?" He asked.

"I don't need to answer right now. I'll call him later."

I knew I was going to get it, for not answering the phone. But I also knew that I would get in more trouble if I answered the phone. He would either demand to stop by, or figure out that Eli and Adam were here. Both were not good outcomes if I picked up the phone. So I decided to deal with the consequences later, and come up with an excuse for not answering.

"So if you don't mind me asking, why are you with Fitz?" Adam asked curiously. Eli had looked down at his paper, and was working on his essay. Although it did seem to me that he was actually listening to my answer to Adam's question.

"He's not the guy you think he is." I stated.

"Then why didn't you answer his call?" Adam asked. I bit my lip. I didn't know what to tell them. "Because of us, right?"

"He doesn't need to know—" My words were cut off by someone banging on the front door.

"Clare! I know you're home!" Fitz yelled, while slamming his fist into the door.

"One second!" I called back.

"Clare!" Fitz repeated.

"You two need to leave right now!" I stated to Adam and Eli. I said ushering them towards the backdoor.

Without a word, they grabbed their stuff and followed to backdoor. They looked hesitant to leave, but I made them go.

"I'll see you on Monday." I said, before shutting the door quietly.

I ran to the front door, as quickly as possible. I undid the deadbolt and Fitz nearly kicked it open. He stormed into the room, and slammed the door.

"Where are they?" He demanded.

"Where are who?" I asked trying to sound innocent.

"Emo boy and Tranny! I know they are here! Their hearse is here! Don't lie to me!" Fitz growled.

"Check the house." I offered, failing to keep myself from shaking.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Fitz growled.

Since I was caught off guard and his hand was so powerful, I wasn't prepared when he struck me and stumbled back until I hit my eye on the corner of the coffee table. The pain radiated from my eye to the rest of my face. My vision blurred and I couldn't think clearly for a few moments. I screamed out in pain, and Fitz ran to my side. He tried to pull me towards him but I pushed him away.

"Get out!" I screamed at him.

"Babe, you know that I didn't mean it." Fitz pleaded.

"Get out!" I repeated.

"No!" Fitz said grabbing my hair and pulling it towards him. "You don't tell me what to do!"

"My parents will be home soon! They can't find you here!" I hoped I was showing too much pain on my face for him to notice my lie.

"Fine." I growled low in my ear. "Don't think that you will be able to get out of this one. I will see you tomorrow."

"Get out!" I screamed again.

I pulled away from him and stood up, running to the mirror. The bruise was already forming and I needed to cover it up. Fitz took the hint, and left. I noticed as he opened the door, that the hearse was gone. This was good, because I didn't want any more problems. I took out my foundation the moment he closed the door, and started applying it to my face. After my face was completely covered up, I ran upstairs to see if Eli or Adam were online. I wanted to give them an explanation for what happened. I sat down at my desk, and flipped open my laptop. I noticed that I didn't have a message but Eli was online.

Before I started to talk to Eli, I decided to contact Alli. I wanted to come over earlier than six. I couldn't stay here for a few more hours; I needed to get out of the house. I checked the time and noticed that it was four. Two hours earlier would be fine right? I decided to ask anyways.

Hey, Alli. MyparentswerewonderingifIcouldcomeoversoonerthansix. TheyaregoingoutandIcan'tgetaridethen.

-Clare

I was laying a lot lately and I was apparently getting pretty good at it. I waited for what seemed like hours before I got a reply. It was probably only a few seconds.

Yeah. Youcancomeovernowifyouwanttoo. JennaandIjustgotbackfrompickingupmoviesandfoodfortonight. IfyouhurryJennamayleaveyousome. LOL

-Alli

Great! Seeyouintwenty!

-Clare

Knowing that I was able to leave this house, I figured I would quickly talk to Eli. I felt like I needed to know about what happened between him and Fitz. Of course, Fitz wouldn't tell me.

Me: About earlier; Fitz would have started a fight, if he had found you guys here.

Eli_Gold_49: I could have handled it.

He says that a lot about Fitz doesn't he?

Me: It was easier this way.

Eli_Gold_49: How so?

Me: Less stuff getting broken.

Eli_Gold_49: Is that your way of saying I would lose?

Me: I don't know who would win, but I do know my house would lose. I didn't want to clean up a mess.

Eli_Gold_49: Did you just compliment me?

Oh, crap. I should not have mentioned who would win. Why am I being so careless? Fitz will kill me if this gets back to him.

Me: No. So what happened between you and Fitz any way?

I hoped that he would be distracted enough by my change of subject, that he wouldn't continue the previous one.

Eli_Gold_49: He broke my car. Snapped Morty's hood ornament off.

Me: And that requires you two to be enemies?

Eli_Gold_49: It's the classic struggle between bully and bullied. And there is only one way to play that game.

Me: By ignoring him?

Eli_Gold_49: By refusing to be the victim.

Me: How are you a victim? Fitz isn't one to prolong these antics.

Eli_Gold_49: So you say.

Me: Well you don't know him like I do.

Eli_Gold_49: That may be true, but I know him in a different light. Dude's a menace.

Me: You are overreacting. But I have to go.

Eli_Gold_49: Aww. You and Fitzy boy have a date?

Me: For your information, Jenna and Alli invited me over for a girls' night.

Eli_Gold_49: Does Fitzy boy know?

Me: What if he doesn't? Are you going to tell?

Eli_Gold_49: Secret's safe with me. But it doesn't sound like he would like his girlfriend ditching him on a Saturday night.

Me: Like I said earlier. It's not like he needs to know everything. I'll see you on Monday.

I shut my laptop and headed for my closet. I needed to get some stuff packed and I didn't want to deal with any more questions. I didn't really like the interrogation. I spent a lot of the past few days, thinking about my relationship with Fitz. I didn't think that I could actually break up with him. For one, he wouldn't let me. I know it. Second, he is too gentle and sweet. I care about him a lot. I hate that he is in this war with Eli and Adam.

I feel that if he were to end the feud, than maybe he wouldn't be so high strung and stressed. This has probably been the cause of his abuse, and his anger. He wasn't always like this. When we first were going out he was really kind and thoughtful. He always put me first. My friends really liked him. We would go on a girls' night and he would tag along for some of it.

The girls loved having a 'bodyguard' around when we were walking downtown at night. We all felt safe with him. I still do. We won't hurt me on purpose. He won't lie to me. He doesn't control me. He tells me what I do wrong, and when I do something that I should get into trouble for, he tells me. When we argue he lashes out. But that's only now, with the feud. I know that he wouldn't do anything to me when the war ends.

Eli and Adam would just be my English partners, and hopefully friends. My family life would still be hectic, but hopefully I would be able to hang out with Fitz or Alli and Jenna or maybe even Adam and Eli, when home was too hard to handle. Life would get better. I just needed to end this feud. I finished packing a bag and started heading downstairs. I grabbed my keys, and my makeup which was still sitting on the living room table, where I last left it. I checked my face in the mirror and decided to do a touch up. I had to remember to get up before everyone to check my cheek. I couldn't have Jenna or Alli finding out about it. Definitely not yet.

I had gotten Alli's address and decided to walk there. I didn't exactly feel like riding my bike, and I didn't have a license yet. I started walking down the street, as my phone started going off. I flipped it open and pressed it to my ear. It was number I didn't recognize.

"Hello?" I said.

"So, Edwards. You do know that the English essay is due Monday right?" Eli asked.

"You're joking." I stated.

"Wish I was. Adam mentioned it on the way out of your house today. Since you kicked us out of your house, and you rushed off of the computer; I didn't get a chance to tell you." Eli replied. I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"What? With all the witty banter and the jokes about my relationship, you didn't have the time? Shame." I teased.

"Okay, Romeo. Time's up." I heard Adam call from in the distance, on the other line.

"I'll see you Monday, Edwards." He said.

"Bye." I replied, before hanging up.

I was almost to Alli and Jenna's when I put the phone back in my pocket. I finished the walk quickly and spotted the house. Stepping up to the front door, I knocked. When Alli came to the door, she glanced for the car.

"Hey. Where are your parents?" Alli asked curiously.

"They just left." I replied.

"Okay. Come on in." Alli said, stepping away for me to walk in.

We spent all night watching movies and talking about celebrities. Apparently Jenna and Alli are in love with like half of the American guys out there right now. We found that we had a lot in common and talked for hours.