Watch and Learn-A Degrassi Fanfic

AN: Okay, so the first 3 chapters will be in the POVs of each of the 3 different ghosts, to introduce each one. After that, I'll probably switch between POVs within each chapter. I suppose this would be set before 'All Falls Down.' So...here it is. [:

Chapter One

-Julia's POV-

I watched in amusement as Eli flirted with the girl—Clare. He would say something quick-witted, and she'd retort with something just as smart, and he'd shoot her one of his trademark smirks.

It was getting late, and he offered to drive her home. She looked like she was about to agree, but then remembered something.

"My sister's in town," she explained somberly. "She said she'd pick me up here when she was done shopping."

"It's fine," Eli said, still smirking. He might make that face a whole lot, but I, for one, never got tired of it.

As if on cue, the doors of the restaurant (the Dot) swung open, and a thin, brunette twenty-something came rushing in.

"Clare!" She exclaimed, and Clare stood immediately to embrace the girl I presumed to be her sister.

"Darcy! It's been so long. Look how tan you've gotten!" I noticed that the other girl's skin was exceptionally dark in comparison to Clare's pale tone.

"I think you got whiter," Darcy said with a grin. "And taller, and curvier, and older, and gosh, Clare, is there anything that you didn't change?"

"Probably not," Clare joked. Her sister glanced behind her, and her grin grew impossibly bigger.

"Oh my, you must be the notorious Eli!" I laughed at the mortified expression that crossed Clare's face when Eli looked at her.

"That would be me. Why, does Clare talk about me a lot?" I laughed again—something that's so easy to do when you're a ghost. Nobody can tell you how stupid you look.

"In every letter!" Clare's face flushed to a shade of red that I thought only my face was capable of attaining.

"Do not," she mumbled.

"You're right—he is cute," Darcy whispered, too quiet for Eli to hear.

"Cute?" I scoffed. "Eli's freaking gorgeous." It was okay to sound ridiculous—nobody could hear me anyway.

"Shhh!" Clare hissed, and for a moment, I let myself pretend that she was talking to me. That I was alive, and they could all see me standing here in the middle of them.

"I've got to get going," Eli said, grinning at the sisterly bickering. "I'll call you tomorrow Clare-Bear." She rolled her eyes and gave him a brief hug before he exited.

Rather than follow Eli just yet—since I already knew where he was going—I decided to stay with the sisters for a little bit. I found their Eli-gossiping absolutely hilarious. It reminded me of the way my best girl friend, Alex, and I used to go into total girly-girl mode whenever we discussed boys.

We'd chill in my room—she in my Moonchair and I on my bed—and giggle the way we would never, ever giggle around anybody else. Like we were the stars in a light-hearted chick-flick.

I actually visited Alex a few weeks ago. She doesn't giggle like that to anybody anymore.

I shook my head and stalked out of the Dot. I didn't feel like walking—much less running—so I simply popped over to Morty.

Transporting usually takes a lot of energy, but I wasn't all too tired when I settled into Eli's passenger seat, considering he hadn't driven very far.

He was listening to that hardcore music that he'd found solace in after my death. Well, actually, I'm not sure if that's why he listened to it, but I liked to think it was because of me. It made me feel important.

I could only take so much of the mindless screaming, though, before it began to annoy me. So, I reached forward and changed the channel. I twisted the knob until it fell on the grunge channel that he knew I loved.

On Eli's face sat the expression that he wore every time I dropped hints to my presence—mystified, awestruck, amazed, and if you looked close enough, you could even see that he was a bit unnerved. I rolled my eyes.

"It's just me, Eli." He didn't say anything, but kept my music on for the rest of the ride.

The cemetery was closed when we got there, but that never stopped him before. "Do we have to go here again?" I groaned, not that he noticed.

It was sort of silly, how he felt the need to drive all the way out to Ottawa when he wanted to talk to me. I guess he never realized that I was with him all the time.

"Hello Eli," The night guard, Mike, greeted. He wasn't supposed to allow anybody in after closing, but he had a soft spot for Eli. He knew that he only came here every other week, and that it was a long drive. He trusted him.

I was curious one night and followed Mike home. After eavesdropping and shifting through some of his old photos, I discovered that he'd lost his girlfriend when he was seventeen, so I suppose that's why he let Eli in against the rules.

The cemetery was somewhat crowded tonight, but it would appear empty to Eli. I wrapped my hand around his, and the hairs on his arm stood on end. Some of the ghosts here weren't as friendly as me. They probably wouldn't hurt him, but it was always better to travel in pairs at this time of night.

When we got to my grave, I let go of his hand and leaned against my tombstone.

"Julia," he said, staring at a space to my left.

"I'm over here," I muttered.

"Jules." I rolled my eyes.

"You know I hate it when you call me that." He laughed weakly before I finished my sentence.

"You hate that name, don't you?" I giggled; he always seemed to know what I was going to say.

"So, I, um…How are you, where ever you are?" He was always so awkward when he came here.

"Pretty fine, thanks."

"Hah. I just asked a question to a dead person, and the sad thing is, I sort of expected you to answer for a second there."

"I did answer you, Eli. You just didn't hear me. You were much more charismatic when I was alive."

"I just wonder if you're okay, a lot. Well, I mean, I know you're…but…you know what I mean. I wonder if they gave you a handbook or something, like in Betelgeuse."

"You don't get a handbook for life. What makes you think you'll get one for death?"

He didn't say anything more, just stared past me, lost in his own thoughts.

"You know, Eli, you tell everybody you're over me, and yet here you stand, every other week. Clearly, we can't be together. I accepted that a long time ago. I mean, you broke up with me that night anyway. Can't you just make things official with Clare and get on with it? She's a total sweetheart, and if anybody deserves you, it's her. Besides, you know I was never the jealous type."

"You know he can't hear you, right?" I turned to see a young girl with long blonde ringlets and wide brown eyes.

"Yeah, I know," I sighed.

"Then why do you keep trying to talk to him?" She wondered, genuinely confused. I shrugged.

"I don't know. It's just what I do." She thought for a moment, then walked away.

I looked back at Eli, who seemed to be contemplative.

"I wish I knew if you were here, listening to me," he mused. "I'd ask for a sign, but that would be incredibly cliché." I smirked.

"You want a sign? I'll give you a sign." I grinned to myself as I kneeled in front of him and untied his Converse, and then retied them together. He didn't even notice.

Eli turned to leave, and in the process fell straight into my trap, tripping over his knotted laces and landing flat on his face. At first he was confused, but then he looked down at his feet and laughed. It was just the kind of thing that I'd do, after all. That's why I did it.

"Thanks, Julia," he smirked, fixing his laces and getting up. He glanced around, like he was expecting to magically see me.

"Any time," I responded, unbeknownst to him, following him back to Morty.