A/N: Here is the last chapter. It's sad to think that this story is over. I was really enjoying writing this. I think I ended this nicely, though. Enjoy!

Clare sat in one of the benches at the side of school. It was lunch time and she was brainstorming for her next English assignment – A "Thank You" letter to anyone who has impacted their life. She knew exactly who to write to and wasted no time writing down ideas.

"Sorry, I'm late," a voice interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up to see Eli standing there with a comic book in his hands.

"Adam wanted to catch up," he explained.

Clare smiled, "It's ok. All is well with him?"

"Yep," he took a seat next to her, "What are you working on?"

"The English assignment," she replied.

Eli looked at her, "That's not due for another two weeks."

She shrugged, "I know, but I had an idea for it so I wanted to write it down."

He nodded, "Can I take a look?"

She moved the papers away from him, "I was hoping to do this on my own?"

He looked puzzled but agreed – her writing had improved since their first meeting.

"Sure, but as a trade off, I won't show you my paper."

"Deal," Clare said. She leaned over to him and kissed his cheek, "Thank you."

Eli smiled. They kept PDA to a minimum, but they snuck in a few kisses here and there. They were only a month in to the relationship, but things were going well. They were taking things slow and were comfortable with the pace. Clare couldn't have been any happier and Eli felt the same.

"How's everything at home?" he asked.

She sighed – it was hard for her to talk about it sometimes.

"My dad found an apartment. My mom and I are going to stay with her sister."

He sat silently, listening.

"They still send me to Alli's here and there," she continued, "But they've gotten better at talking to me about it."

Eli put an arm around her. Clare snuggled closer, with a smile.

"If there's anything more I can do…" he started.

"Eli, you've been great," she told him.

The two heard arguing at a distance. The turned their attention to the noise. K.C. and Jenna were at a standstill – she was in tears and he was fuming. After a few more exchanges in words, K.C. walked away. Jenna tried to stop her tears before going the opposite direction.

"Does he always walk away?" Eli asked.

"I guess so," Clare replied, "Especially when tackled and threatened."

"No one messes with my girlfriend…" he leaned in.

She giggled at his comment and met him halfway. They shared a quick kiss.

The bell rang and Clare got up. Eli quickly followed. She lightly grabbed his hand.

"Let's get to class, boyfriend."

Three weeks had passed and exams were coming up. Everyone was stressing out. Alli offered to tutor Drew in History, Adam still had a love-hate relationship with Math, Eli focused most of his attention on French, and Clare was working on a Media Immersion project. As if she didn't have enough on her plate, Ms. Dawes wanted to see Clare afterschool.

She nervously walked into her English class. Ms. Dawes hadn't spoken to her since she was assigned to work with Eli. She thought she was making progress in the class. She stood awkwardly by the door.

"Ms. Dawes?"

The teacher looked up and smiled, "Come in, Clare."

She could sense the girl's nerves.

"You're not in trouble."

Clare relaxed at her words.

"Hi Ms. Dawes," a voice chimed in.

Clare turned around to see Eli. She couldn't help but smile at his presence. He returned it with a smirk.

"Now that the two of you are here," Ms. Dawes spoke, "I wanted to get your input on what it was like working with a partner the whole semester."

Clare and Eli looked at each other.

"It was… great," Eli said, "But you really have to be open to the idea of working with someone for the whole semester."

"Yeah," Clare agreed, "But once you get passed that, you can learn a lot from them."

"Would you say that you improved in your writing?" Ms. Dawes asked.

"I feel like I have," Clare replied, "I look at my work in the beginning of the semester and there is a big difference."

Eli nodded, "Yeah, there are subtle changes in my work, but my essays are definitely better now."

Ms. Dawes was happy to hear their answers, "Thank you Eli, Clare. I was thinking of assigning everyone a partner next semester. I've noticed your writing have improved and I am hoping to get the same results with your classmates."

She then pulled out their recent assignment – the "Thank You" letters.

"These letters are some of your best works," she told them, "I can see the improvement in your writing. I just wanted to commend you for all the effort you put into this class. As you know, there is no exam for this class, just a final essay. You two are doing exceptional in this class so don't worry too much about that last essay."

"That's one less class to worry about," Eli mentioned.

"Indeed, Mr. Goldsworthy," Ms. Dawes agreed.

The teacher set the papers aside, "Good luck on finals."

With those words, the two were dismissed. As they got to the door, Ms. Dawes saw them intertwine hands. She smiled and looked their essay. Both started off the same.

Thank you, Ms. Dawes.

A/N: That's the last chapter! This was a lot of fun to write. I hope I can think of other EClare ideas. Maybe I'll be back when school has ended. Haha. Thank you for the reviews and alerts, those made me smile. I hope you enjoyed reading this story. Thank you again!