So, did anybody else think that the way Eli and Clare acted in Try Honesty was a little… erm… different? Like, they're totally comfortable with each other now, and act like they've been friends for years. Makes me think something else happened between them after Better Off Alone, Part 2 and before the newest episodes. Something that established them as friends, and made Clare feel comfortable enough to flirt more directly. So, here's an idea for what happened!

"You sure you don't want them back?" Clare brandished the headphones at Eli speculatively. "It's been a lot quieter since they talked things over."

He raised an eyebrow, "So, they're perfectly pleasant and completely agreed that a divorce was out of the question?"

Her expression faltered. "Well, um… no? They just said they'd have to talk, really talk, and that it might be awhile before things really got back to normal. Then they thanked me for giving them the push they needed to work things out,"

He sighed, and looked her dead in the eye. "You know, that may just mean they are considering one and don't want to tell you yet."

For a minute, Clare couldn't quite process what he had said, then she stuttered. "Wh- what?'

"Clare, just because things look calmer now doesn't mean they'll stay that way forever. For all you know, the fighting could start up again tonight. It might be even worse. So, just keep them, ok?"

"But…" Her voice trailed off, and she looked down, biting her lip.

Eli gulped, watching her. They were talking about something serious, something sad. So why couldn't he keep his mind off of her, of how just plain adorable she was? She could switch from shy to stubborn, sincere to sarcastic, and sweet to sour in mere seconds. Nobody else, well, almost nobody else, could match him retort for retort, and nobody else did while looking so entirely innocent. Most people might not glance at her twice, might think she wasn't a threat (not like they did for him), because of how pure she looked, but Eli knew that if provoked, Clare could be every bit as dangerous as he could.

Suddenly, she glanced back up, interrupting his train of thought by staring at him with huge crystalline eyes. "Don't you need them?"

"Uh, no. Not really. I have another pair of at home." He chuckled at the suspicious look she gave him. "Well, they're not exactly like them, but I can plug them into an ipod, and that's all that matters."

"Ok. If you say so." She turned back toward the book they were supposed to be analyzing, flipped through a few pages, and slammed it back on the table. "Now, do you have any idea how to interpret this thing?"

He glanced at it. The book was an anthology of nonfiction essays written in a sort of neo-transcendentalist style, and every single chapter was very capable of delivering a headache. Still, he had a pretty good idea of what Ms. Dawes was trying to get them to do.

"Yep. We read it, find a page, analyze it for symbols and conventional literary patterns, then write a five page essay on how we came to the conclusions we did. Everybody has to pick a different page, so no copying. We just can help direct each other's thought processes, and generate ideas. Simple."

"It is not simple!" Clare exploded, and a few of the adjacent students eye her warily.

"Anything wrong, Miss Edwards?" Dawes looked up from the stack of papers she was grading.

"Uh, no ma'am!" Clare seemed embarrassed, and Eli smirked. He was going to have to work on that.

"Well, keep it down then. Other people are trying to work."

"Yes, ma'am!" Clare turned back toward him, and whispered harshly. "It is not simple. How do I pick a page, just one, and analyze it? Which one is right? How can I possibly look for enough symbols to write that long of an essay on just one page? It's got to be impossible."

"Wrong." Eli opened his copy, and flipped to one of the shorter essays. "I'm writing mine on this page here. I say she's working into the classic 'alien' idea. She sees a ship a long way off, and thinks it's floating in the air. Sky and sea get mixed together; she's confused. Both of those can later morph into clear examples of well-established patterns. Then, down here, she mentions how she never can find time to meet the owners of the light she sees far-off in the winter darkness. This also ties back to aliens, because we see the light of their worlds, but can never seem to reach them and say hello. Of course," he smirked, "you could also choose to see that as a separation from God thing, or as choosing to ignore the unknown. Really, there are a billion ways to interpret it." He nodded to her. "And close your mouth. Flies will get it."

Snapping her jaw closed, she hissed furiously. "How, how can you have gotten all that already? I don't even have a passage picked out yet. Hell, I don't even know where to start!"

He cocked his head to one side. "Really? The H-word? How unlike you, Clare."

"Shut up." She put her head in her hands. "What am I going to do?"

Okay, now he felt kind of bad for her. Hesitating, he reached down to pick her chin up, and lifted her face till he could look into her eyes. "Listen, Clare, you're having trouble because you're still too scared of what people think. No," he put a finger to her lips, stopping the angry denial he knew was coming. "You are, no matter whether you'll admit to it or not. Just listen to me for a second, and don't speak unless I ask you to. Ok?"

She nodded.

"Alright, good. Now, your writer's block returned because you're scared that you might choose a passage that's 'wrong'. You're afraid you'll choose something Mrs. Dawes won't like, and so you want to pick a safe, obvious route. Well, in case you haven't noticed, she hates that kind of thing! The more unconventional the better. And anyway, nothing and nobody is ever wrong when it comes to literary analysis. There are millions of symbols in this book. You just have to find a page with ones you think you can write about, and start generating. You'll find once you get one idea, ten more will just pop into your head."

"But I can't find anything." She whined.

He looked at her sternly. "Woman, did I say you could speak?" When she glared at him, he smirked playfully. "As punishment for being disobedient, go make me a sandwich."

She rolled her eyes. "Eli, we're in the middle of English. I can't go make you a sandwich, and even if I could, I wouldn't."

Feisty. Normally, he wouldn't have been so rude to a girl (actually, he hated guys that were), but with Clare, it was ok. She always had a snide remark ready; she could defend herself. With her, it wasn't disrespect; it was all a part of the competitive/caring relationship they'd created. They were intellectual rivals, and the male vs. female thing just added spice.

"Alright then." He looked her over, assessing her expression before he took a risk. "Well, I'll be competing in a contest for concert tickets after school, and it might last awhile. I'll probably be hungry afterward. How about if you go to The Dot with me, and we can work on your essay? You can buy me a sandwich instead, and I'll get you ice cream afterward in return. Deal?"

She smiled. "Sure, I guess. I just can't promise I'll have anything worth reviewing when we get there." The bell rang, and they started to pack up. Eli was going to walk out, but Clare stopped him by grabbing his shoulder,

"Um, good luck, at the competition, I mean. Hope you win." Her eyes sparkled with sincerity,

He smirked in response. "I intend to, believe me."

She patted his arm, and added, "Call me when you get out!" before disappearing into the crowd of students that filled the halls.

Oh, Blue Eyes, believe me, I will. Then, well satisfied, he turned in the opposite direction, and walked out of the building. If he was going to win the contest, he'd need to make some preparations first. Supposedly, the competition had something to do with who could last the longest standing in a crowd. That he could do, but it would be good to have some way to get rid of a few rivals, just in case.

Maybe those old fish I saw in the dumpster can be useful to somebody after all…

Reviews and constructive criticism (see any grammar mistakes?) are ALWAYS welcome, so hit that pretty blue button at the bottom of the page, okay?