When I woke up to my alarm, I got up and dressed quickly. I didn't even consider riding with Fitz. It just wasn't an option. I grabbed my bag and sat down in my living room. I thought I would check my phone, since I had a few minutes before I had to leave for the bus. I had seventeen missed calls. Every single one was from Fitz. I ignored them. I had three text messages. One was from Fitz, which I ignored. Another was from Alli, and the third was from Alli. I decided to look at them both.
Hey. Are you at school? I'm here with the Drama Club and Adam said he thought he saw you walking outside.
-Eli
I checked the time stamp and realized that I was at school then. The Drama Club was probably what I heard last night coming from inside the school. I, again, didn't want to explain anything, so I just didn't respond. I switched to the next text, which was from Alli, instead.
HEY! You never called. You owe me! Fitz came by looking for you. I lied and said you were out with your parents! I hope you and Eli had a good time last night! Whatever you did ;)!
-Alli
Great. Like I needed to have more people involved with this. I can't believe Fitz actually went to her house. I bet he acted like nothing was wrong in our relationship. Great! Just great!
I wasn't with Eli.
-Clare
I didn't want to explain further. I just needed to clear up that one little fact. I stood up and slung my backpack over my shoulder, heading for the door. I opened it, to see Fitz standing there, nonchalantly. I don't know what possessed me to invite him inside, but I wanted to give him a piece of my mind. I knew I should've yelled at him a public place, such as school or something but I was really pissed off.
"Get in here." I ordered. I let him in and slammed the door. He walked into the living room with the angriest face I have ever seen. I didn't care, because I was raging too.
"What makes you think you can just ignore me?" Fitz demanded.
"What makes you think you can cheat on me?" I retorted.
"I haven't cheated on you." He replied smugly.
"I saw you! Last night! When you were supposedly waiting for me at my house, I saw you at the Dot! I didn't care you were there but you were making out with another girl!" I yelled. "You tell me not to lie, but you are lying!"
"I'm not lying. I didn't cheat. She came onto me. I swear! Please babe! You have to believe me! I wouldn't lie to you. I just didn't get a chance you tell you! You were ignoring me." He pleaded.
"Don't turn this around on me! I didn't cheat!" I stated.
"You didn't? So you haven't been cheating on me with Emo boy? Seems that way to me." He replied coldly.
"I am not cheating on you with Eli! I'm not cheating on you with anyone!" I yelled.
"So why did you take his side at school?" Fitz asked. I could tell he was still extremely angry.
"I don't believe in this feud. You shouldn't have done that to him!" I yelled.
"You shouldn't have taken the side of a heartless homicidal maniac!" Fitz screamed.
"He's not a heartless homicidal maniac! You are!" I stated.
"At least I am not a murderer!" Fitz yelled at me. What was he talking about?
"What?" I asked confused.
"He didn't tell you?" Fitz asked. A smile growing on his face.
"No." I shook my head.
"He killed his girlfriend last year. Everyone knows about it. She was apparently cheating on him or something and he couldn't take it. He hit her with his car. On purpose." He sneered.
"Eli?" I asked trying to make sense of everything.
"Yes. Emo boy killed his girlfriend. It's why he got the hearse. It's why I told you to stay away from him! He's dangerous!" Fitz argued.
"Okay." I said defeated. I wasn't sure who to be scared of more. Fitz when he was angry or Eli. I thought Eli was good. Someone different from Fitz. And I was right. Fitz was better. Fitz was safer.
"Now babe? I didn't cheat. You have to believe me. I have never lied to you. I never will. I will definitely not hurt you again. Okay? Please forgive me? I love you!" Fitz pleaded, stepping closer to me. "I don't want to lose you!"
"Okay, Fitz. I believe you." I sighed. "I love you too." I had been avoiding him the past few days without giving him chance to explain or talk. I just cut him off. I shouldn't have done that.
Fitz pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I was one of the kisses that we had when we were first going out. To prove he really cared about me. I knew he did. I would stay away from Eli now. I knew the reason. Fitz was only trying to protect me. He never lied to me, so I didn't have a reason to distrust him.
We pulled out of the embrace, and we walked hand in hand to his car. He opened my door for me, and waited for me to sit down before closing it. He was being really sweet and it reminded me of when he was trying to be the best boyfriend he could be, when we were first going out. I knew things would change. He really didn't want to lose me.
As we drove to school, I stared out the window. I knew things were going to be better between me and Fitz, but I was still worried about the outcome. I was worried about first period with Eli and Adam. I didn't know what to tell them. Especially since we would be getting our essays back today and I knew Eli wanted to prove me wrong about them. I really wanted to avoid Eli and Adam but I thought that we had a lot in common. I trusted Fitz about what he told me about Eli and I knew that Eli was dangerous. Fitz would never lie to me, and I knew that he was telling the truth.
I walked into school, and didn't see Alli or Jenna. This was good because I still didn't really know what to tell them. I would definitely see them at lunch. I decided since things were better between me and Fitz that I didn't need to hide anymore. When I tried to leave Fitz to go to first period, he followed me. The bell was going to ring soon, and many kids were out of the hallways now. If he didn't leave now, he would be late.
"Fitz. It's okay. You don't need to come with me. I know where my first class is." I said, hoping he would get the hint and go to class. That way he didn't get a detention.
"I'll just walk you to class. I won't get a detention." He promised.
He took my hand walked with me down the hallway. It was weird to hold his hand in school. We had never done that before. When we got to English, I tried to enter, but Fitz pulled me back. I looked at him, and he pulled me into another kiss. This one seemed more of a show, rather than love. When I pulled away, I stumbled a little, and caught Eli and Adam talking. I knew that it was a show for them. Great. Fitz glared at Eli and Adam for a moment, before he turned and left.
I walked in and sat down in my seat behind Eli. He didn't turn to make conversation with me. I was glad. The teacher walked in and started class quickly. She always came in right at the bell. I was surprised she was never late.
"I have your essays graded. Revisions are due tomorrow if you want the chance to boost your grade." Mrs. Dawes spoke as she walked around the classroom. She hands me, mine, and I look it over. A C? I got a C?
"Mrs. Dawes?" I asked. "Is there any way for me to know what I did wrong?"
"Well. That's the assignment tonight. If you want I could assign you a partner to look it over with you." Mrs. Dawes replied.
"No. It's okay." I sighed leaning back in my chair.
"You know. I have a very good partner for you."
"No—" I urged, but I was cut off.
"Clare. Meet your new English partner. Eli." She stated.
"Me?" Eli asked. Him?
"You two will be editing each other's work for the semester." Mrs. Dawes stated. "Eli, you are a little too wordy. While Clare, you need to figure out how to examine your work. Class. We may have the next Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes on our hands."
"Sylvia Plath killed herself." I replied definitely annoyed.
I sat there, staring at my work, the rest of class. Eli? The one person I needed to avoid? Just my luck. When the bell rang, I wanted to get out first. I rushed to the door, only to get bumped out of the way by Eli. He turned to me and smirked before leaving the room. How was I going to avoid this partnership?
The rest of the morning I sat in my classes, actually paying attention for once. I was still worried about being Eli's partner but I knew that Fitz wouldn't flip out about this. So I could actually think, and focus on school. I realized that most of my classes were behind my old school, regardless of what I have been told. So I really didn't need to think much when completing the work. It was actually pretty easy. At lunch I didn't know who to sit with, and Jenna and Alli decided for me.
Again. They pulled me along to their table and I sat down between them, while they chatted with everyone. I saw Eli and Adam cut across the café, heading to their table from Friday. Two girls were already sitting with there, and they sat down beside them. I wondered who the girls were. The taller of the two was definitely older than the rest. She was probably rich, based on her outfit. She was wearing designer everything. While the other girl was probably in Eli's grade and wearing her hair in crazy buns with an outfit, that looked more like a Halloween costume to me. I couldn't help but wonder who the girls were. I don't even know why I wanted to know. I just did for some reason. It was extremely weird.
I didn't see Fitz at all during lunch. I found that odd, but didn't complain. I worked with KC and Connor on math homework they seem to do every day during lunch, while Alli tried including Jenna into her conversation with Dave. Apparently these girls were boy crazy. They loved their friends, but definitely put their boyfriends first. I never had to worry about that with Fitz.
I guess I would have to juggle that to keep balance with both. After lunch, I went to my classes. I realized that I had Creative Writing and Journalism before Science with Alli. I didn't know that. I had really looked at my schedule. I didn't pay attention in my classes the past few days and I realized now I probably should've paid more attention than to just the room numbers.
Science was a breeze, we did lab work and I was paired up with Alli. We talked while we worked, and she invited me over again Friday, to get ready for the dance. I usually don't go to dances, because they aren't Fitz's thing. My friends used to drag me along but Fitz told them to stop making me do things I wasn't comfortable with. The dance's theme was Vegas Night, and apparently it was supposed to be really cool.
"You have to go!" Alli stated. "It's going to be so much fun! The dances here are so much better than regular dances! This time we get to actually gamble and everything. The person with the highest amount of coins after the night ends wins a flat screen! I mean how cool is that?"
"It is cool. I just don't see why I would go. I mean you would have Dave. Jenna would have Jake. I don't have anyone. Fitz doesn't like dances." I replied sadly.
"Really? We always see him at Degrassi dances. He hangs out with his friends. Maybe he just doesn't like Lakehurst dances?" Alli proposed.
"Maybe. Fine. I'll go. I'll also talk to Fitz." I stated.
"Good. Jenna and I are getting ready at four. Come join us. Trust me. We will have fun!" Alli beamed.
"Okay." I agreed.
I did like dances. Especially if Fitz apparently went to them. I didn't think he was that type of person. I mean he always told me dances weren't his thing. Alli is probably right. Lakehurst never threw good dances. And if you could win things like flat screens for fake gambling, he would definitely be there. Class was over sooner than I thought, and I made my way to the front of the school with Alli. She was meeting Dave in the front too. I was just about to head through the doors, when a girl stopped me.
"Excuse me. I know you are new, and I heard you are a writer. Our school has a newspaper staff, and I'm the editor. I was wondering if you thought about joining." She asked.
"Yeah. That sounds great." I said nodding along.
"Okay. We meet Thursdays after school. I'm Katie." The girl stated.
"I'm Clare." I replied.
"I'll see you Thursday Clare." She said, as she walked out of the school with her friend. I could've sworn her friend was Marisol.
"You're a writer?" Alli asked, as we passed through the doors.
"Yeah." I said.
Alli left me, and went to Dave. I spotted Fitz, and walked over to him. He kissed me lightly, and opened my door. I got in and waited for him to do the same. He started the car, and drove me home. We didn't talk but he had his arm around me. When we pulled into the driveway, he cut the engine. We got out, and walked into the house. He held the door open for me.
"You're being extremely quiet." I stated, while he shut the door.
"I thought I told you to stay away from Emo Boy." He stated firmly.
"I have been." I said. "I just can't avoid him in class. We are still in a group together."
"And English partners?" He demanded.
"How'd you hear about that? I mean it isn't a secret but we were only assigned today." I said.
"How long are you his partner?" He asked harshly. Avoiding my question.
"The whole semester." I stated, looking down at the floor. I could see anger flowing in his eyes again.
"Are you kidding me? Why would you do something this stupid? You should've told the teacher you couldn't work with him!"
"I tried. I'm sorry. I just couldn't." I argued. "I thought that you would be okay with this?"
"Why would I ever be okay with this? He'll kill you! Just like he killed his ex! Do you want that?" He screamed stepping closer to me.
"I don't think he will kill me in school. So I think I am good." I argued. "I just won't meet with him outside of school!"
"That makes me feel so much better! You aren't talking to him in general! I demand you to stay away from him!" He stated.
"You demand me? So now you are ordering me around? I'm done Fitz. We're done! I'm not doing this anymore. Don't call. Don't talk to me!" I screamed walking to the door.
I didn't care if this was my house. I just needed to get away from Fitz. I couldn't be around him right now.
"Where are you going?" He demanded. I heard him walking towards me.
"I'm leaving! I'm done Fitz! We aren't together anymore! I can't force you to leave, so I'm leaving!" I turned around and screamed in his face. "Good bye!"
I turned back around and stomped towards the door. The next thing I knew, Fitz grabbed my arm. He nearly dragged me back to him.
"You'll leave, when I tell you too." He sneered.
Before I knew it, he slammed me back into the coffee table and I blacked out from the pain. The last thing I remembered was the sound of glass breaking.