Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story. It's all fiction, and I make no profit from it. That being said, maybe you all should pass this story along to your favorite Degrassi characters. I need to make money some how. Banks only hold so much for me to rob. And crystal meth can be such a costly habit. Anywho.. you guys have no one but yourselves to thank for getting this fifth chapter, because I really didn't have any intention of writing it. Now, if I get, oh I don't know, 5 billion reviews for this chapter, I may think about doing another one, but for all intents and purposes, this is the last chapter of this fic.

A big shout out to the author DarkChanter for helping me come up with the second song choice of this song, as well as being a sounding board for some ideas, including the opening scene. Le gasp, I know.

This story is a little different from the canon, obviously. They got together in late September, where as on the show their characters hooked up in December, so.. keep that in mind. I also made a key change in chapter 3, where instead of Eli being upset about his mother dying, I changed it to girlfriend, but if you notice in chapter four his dad still mentioned his mother, so know that she is still dead as well.

Now for the part you've been dying for! I've chosen THREE songs for this fic. I really put some hard thought into these, so I hope you at least humor me and play them (if you can) while you read. Now, if you have your own songs you think would work better, then feel free. But at least give these a try f irst.

The first one, type in Beautiful piano soundtrack [Hurenzu - wolf's rain] into Youtube. It's uploaded by okiagiri. Start that when "Clare!" is bolded.

Second song is Skillet – Those Nights, to be started when the word That is bolded.

Third song is Young Love – Close Your Eyes, uploaded by HalfAssVids, to be played when the word She is bolded and italicized.

With that, enjoy the fic, and review! Or burn in hell ^^

Drip…

Drip…

The sound bounced around the large room, echoing off the seemingly endless walls that skied upwards towards a large ceiling. The room was empty save for the small mass that lay curled up on the floor. As if agitated by the obnoxious dripping sound, it stirred; its eyelashes fluttering open as it sat up.

A wave of vertigo hit the figure, causing its sharp green eyes to screw shut as it waited for the feeling to pass.

"Eli…" said a faint voice; startling the figure on the floor. It sounded obfuscated, as if he were listening to someone speak at the far end of the tunnel.

The figure, Eli, hesitantly opened his right eye, and then the other. He peered around the endless room while he stood up, his legs shaking like those of a newborn calf. The lighting was dim, yet he could still see, albeit not as well as he would have liked.

"Eli…" whispered the same soft voice as before.

"Hello?" He responded, his voice fading into the surrounding darkness. What the hell is wrong with this place? Where am I? What-

He stopped himself. A giant flicker of light appeared on the wall in front of him, and with it there materialized a familiar looking street. As if watching a movie, the scene before him began to play out. It was evening outside, snow was falling, and there was a beautiful young woman next to his side. His green eyes widened as she started moving out into the street.

"Clare!" he shouted frantically, his hand shooting out from his side, reaching towards the scene that played out before him. He continued to watch as his doppelganger did just that, grabbing her by the arm and spinning her out of harm's way as the black vehicle slammed into him. His body spun, flying through the air, and then landed with an awful, sickening smack; he tumbled and skidded upon the cold, snowy pavement, then finally came to a painful stop.

His stomach clenched violently, the contents of which came spilling forth from him as he hunched over. Panting, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Am I… Am I…

Am I dead? He furrowed his brow in confusion.

"No," sounded the same voice as before, only much more lucid this time.

Eli spun to his right – towards the source of the voice – and came face to face with someone he had only seen through pictures and sweet, sweet nightmares the last year and a half.

Her amazingly clear-blue, compassionate eyes looked upon him kindly, instilling a weird feeling of warmth inside of him. Her shoulder-length brown hair shone as bright and healthy as ever, even in the dim lighting. "Hello, Eli." His breath caught in his throat while she smiled sweetly, cocking her head to the left and flickering her gaze downwards momentarily in a nervous habit he came to adore since the first time he had ever laid eyes on her.

"J-Julia," he whispered. How could this be? How could she be here, if he wasn't dead, when she surely was? A small seed of doubt began to place itself inside of him. There's no way she could be here, because… because he had killed her. He was responsible for her death. For the pain her family and friends went through. He clenched his fists tightly and averted his gaze from the beauty before him. It was all his fault.

In a flash, a hand slapped across Eli's cheek, stunning the teen boy. Julia looked at him, a mixture of empathy, compassion, and a dash of anger in her eyes. "Don't you dare think those things!" Tears started to form around the edges of her eyes, yet refused to spill. "You're a good person, Eli. It was not your fault."

Eli's green eyes hesitantly looked upwards, praying to God that he wasn't going crazy. He bit the inside of his cheek, afraid that if he were to say anymore, that the moment would somehow end and she would be gone again, forever.

Her blue orbs looked upon him with compassion. "If it helps you, know that I forgive you." Her thin, soft and pink lips turned upwards in her patented sweet smile, still having the same effect of making his insides turn into an uneasy pile of mush. Much like Clare whenever she spoke his name, or looked at him, for that matter. He shook those thoughts from his head, feeling the seed of disbelief fester inside of him. It quickly grew and grew, reaching its apex, spilling forth in a rush of dubiety and frustration, pushing him to his boiling point.

"I'm sick of everyone telling me it's not my fault. Of course it's my fault!" Eli yelled out, spilling forth the anger he had bottled up inside of him since that fateful day. "How can you forgive me? I don't deserve it! I'm the reason you're dead! It… it should have been me, Jules. I-I must've done something wrong in a previous life, being punished for something I did, or maybe when I was younger - or something!" He swung his arms wildly as his rant continued, "Because you didn't deserve this! None of it makes sense!" He fell to his knees in front of her, sniffling as hot tears of anguish coursed down his face. He looked up at her, his green eyes swimming with the most painful expression she had ever witnessed. "Tell me… why did it happen? Why did you deserve this?"

Julia went to her knees as well, wrapping her first and only real love up in a tender embrace. "No, no, look at me. You don't deserve this, okay? You do not deserve this, I did not deserve this, my parents and friends did not deserve this." She pulled back and tenderly held his face in her hands, locking her warm blue eyes with his green, watery orbs. "You're a wonderful person, Eli. It's why I fell in love with you in the first place. But you can't let this keep eating away at you inside. It'll turn you into an ugly shell of what you used to be. Don't let the pain and hatred consume you." She finished, finally, placing a soft kiss on top his forehead. "You let your walls down with Clare, but not with everyone. Come on, Eli, you're stronger than that."

"I don't know..." he stopped, biting his lip as he looked into her forgiving eyes. "I don't know how much longer I can keep fighting, Jules," he choked back, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He wrapped his arms around her and felt himself tense as she did the same, her face lay next to his, occasionally kissing it and whispering encouraging words to him.

"Shh, it's okay... it's okay," she murmured, patting and rubbing his back, feeling him relax, finally, under her embrace. "It'll be fine, Eli, everything will be okay."

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours to Eli, but a kink in his leg caused them to part. Standing to his feet, he did like he had done many times before, and helped Julia up to her feet like a gentleman. He turned from her for a moment, feeling a welcomed sense of tranquility wash over him as he looked around the room, watching as the vast expanse of darkness that occupied the room slowly begin to grow with light.

"You always knew what to say, didn't you?" He murmured aloud. Seconds passed, and the lack of response finally prompted him to turn back around to find… nothing. No bright warm smiles, no soft blue eyes, nothing, nothing but empty space. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards in a sad smile, his green eyes locked to an indistinct part of the floor as the room filled with a blinding light.

Clare rolled over on her side, giving her alarm clock an annoyed look. It's not as if it woke her up, mind you. No, she decided to skip school and make it a three day weekend. Thankfully, her mother let her be. She just felt so drained. Having to step into the hospital each and every day.. and see the boy that held her heart in his loving hands still hooked up to all those machines, his skin holding an ashen hue, it takes an emotional and mental toll.

It had been fifteen long, long days since the accident, and at first, Dr. Thompson had been cautious regarding Eli's recovery time, but after a few days, and some really good vital signs, he began gathering more optimism for Eli. He never went so far as to say it, but Clare got the impression that they were expecting Eli to break out of his coma any day. But, last night, something had happened. Something had happened to him, and no one told her what was going on, but it was like he had regressed, and she had heard some murmurings from the nurses that he may never recover.

She fiddled with her cross necklace as she got ready to leave the stuffy house. It was something her mother had gave her for her twelfth birthday. She had said it was a special kind of necklace, one that protected her great-grandfather in World War II. She told her that it was meant to protect your most special person, to keep them safe and guide them. She shook her head at the memory. At twelve, she just thought it looked pretty.

She stepped outside, the sun and sky obnoxiously bright, causing her to shield her eyes for a moment as she walked down her sidewalk, the glare from the snow adding to her building level of annoyance. She finally understood why Eli had been so hesitant to get together with her at first. When you lose someone close to you, it hurts to see the sky so blue, the sun bright and shinning, kids laughing and playing, people smiling. Didn't they know what had happened? Didn't they know that the greatest thing in her world was fighting for survival, and they're just going on their merry little way? Why do they get to be happy, when it feels like she's dying inside?

No, Clare broke away from that line of thinking. She had tried to stay as positive as possible during the whole ordeal, trying her best to push the bad thoughts away and keep them locked up in a small corner in her mind. Positive thinking, good energy goes a long way, the doctor had told her. And she believed him. Honestly, it felt like he was a gift from God, because she was certain that if any other doctor in there had been assigned to Eli, she'd have gone crazy with guilt and worry by now.

Easier said than done, she mused. A few days before last night's incident, she had allowed herself to laugh and sort of "forget" about Eli for an hour. One of her favorite comics was on, and she couldn't help but let go of her problems for just a little while. And it had felt good. Of course, she felt so bad afterwards that she cried her eyes out for a good half hour, and eventually passed out on her bed with the tears still silently falling.

Still, Dr. Thompson had told her to focus on the positive, to focus on all the bright spots in her relationship with Eli, and there were plenty to choose from.

That first meeting with Eli had been unexpected. One moment she was discussing going back to being old-Clare with Alli, and in the next, Eli had shattered that possibility completely by running over her glasses with his hearse. He hopped out of the vehicle and retrieved her glasses. Their hands touched briefly as he handed them back, and in that very moment she knew there was something special about him. The spark she felt inside of her was unlike anything she had ever experienced, before or since.

When he broke down and finally told her what was truly bothering him, why he wasn't committing himself to their relationship as much as he should have, it had truly felt like an invisible weight had been lifted from their relationship. It felt different after that, much more so than any other time with KC. It was like a relationship which transcends most high school relationships. The simple act of him opening up to her fully, spilling out his inner most secrets, pains, and regrets to her brought them closer together than any kiss could ever do.

They seemed more inseparable after that, and Eli had shown her another side of him that she had only seen glimpses of before. On the day before Halloween, he had shown up at her house close to midnight. The fifth rock on her window finally aroused her from her slumber. Begrudgingly, her feet shuffled across her floor to stop next to the window. At first she could only shake her head and give him an incredulous look. However, they both knew she would join him, as evident by the knowing smirk he shot her back in return.

He stayed tight-lipped through the whole twenty-five minute drive, smirking the whole time as she gave up trying to pry the destination from him. She thought about going a more.. sexual route to get the answer out of him, but decided she still wasn't ready to take that leap as of yet.

Eventually, though, they had reached their destination, Eli putting Morty in park and killing the headlights.

"E-Eli, come on," Clare's voice broke through the cool night's air, "this is crazy."

Eli could hear her smile, mixed with curiosity and excitement in her voice as he lead her, blindfolded, through the soft grass and autumn leaves that were laid scattered across the ground. "Okay, stay right here for just a minute, I promise you'll love it." He said, placing a small kiss on her cheek before taking off. "I'll be right back, you have my word."

Being left alone in some unknown place outside wasn't the most comforting feeling in the world, but there was still a rush of adrenaline in her veins that made her feel invigorated; alive. A part of her was scared, still a little bit lacking in the trust department – for obvious reasons – yet, she trusted Eli. She couldn't help but smile bigger as her boyfriend came jogging back, the leaves crunching under the soles of his shoes.

"Did you miss me?" He asked smugly while he wrapped an arm around her and led her towards the direction he had just come from.

"Maaaybe," she said playfully, snuggling in closer to him, enjoying his unique scent. She felt so safe and protected.

"We're here," he whispered to her, stopping her with a gentle squeeze as he helped her remove her blindfold.

He watched her reaction carefully as her blue eyes blinked in rapid succession, taking a moment to adjust to the soft moonlight.

A quick gasp escaped through her lips as her brain registered the scene before her. On the ground there lay a blanket with a thick quilt on top of it, with soft music from his ipod playing beside it, filling the area in a very serene and comforting atmosphere. "I thought you would like this." He smiled, gesturing from the blanket to the sky above, which was cloudless, and perfect for looking up at the constellations above. "You know, romantic."

She struggled for a minute to come up with a response, that and the air seemed to have rushed right out of her, but one long, tight hug later, she managed to murmur, "You did this for me?"

"I'd do anything for you, Clare," he said, holding her tight against him. "You helped heal my scars from the past. You helped me live again."

Further yet she delved into her memories, remembering, it was about a week after Thanksgiving, a Saturday – night, actually. A Saturday night spent at Eli's house. The snow storm that was suppose to arrive on Sunday came earlier than expected, and the conditions outside deteriorated rapidly; there was no way Clare's mother would be able to come get her until morning, and she wasn't going to put her life, or Eli's, in danger by asking him to drive her home.

They spent time talking while they watched TV for a couple hours, then played some cards before finally settling down in Eli's room. They both stripped down, backs facing each other, and slid into Eli's bed around two in the morning.

"You did too take a peak!" Clare said in a loud whisper.

Eli mouthed wordlessly, 'who me?' and then glanced away as his grin split wide across his face.

"Pervert," Clare muttered, her cheeks turning a pink color in the dark.

"We've seen each other half-naked before. We went swimming, remember? So what, the only difference is that we're in bed now, and my dad's snowed in at work. It's not the end of the world, Clare." He finished, putting an icy toe onto Clare's leg, causing the poor girl to shriek and scoot back even further from him.

"That's not even funny!" She yelled, trying to sound more upset than she was, but he wouldn't stop laughing, and soon, she joined him, laughing until their sides hurt and their bodies ached.

Clare was the first to get control of herself, while Eli kept mimicking her face when she shrieked, which started a whole new round of giggles from him. His laughter slowly quieted down, however, as he noticed Clare watching him with a smile on her lips. Her blue eyes were still wet with tears, glinting from the soft rays of silver that filled the dark room.

"What? What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied evasively.

"Aw, come on. Now you have to share!" he said as he began poking her on the side, on her arm, anywhere to be a pest.

"No – No I don't," she said as she tried to bat away his advancing pokes.

"Yes you do," he said smiling, moving his hands under the covers and tickling her through the longer black shirt he let her borrow.

"A-Ah!" she yelled out. Her face began to grow warmer as he started to relentlessly tickle her sides, which were still sore from the laughing earlier. "E-Eli! Quit it!" she squealed, feebly trying to grab ahold of his wrists so to give her sides a brief reprieve.

"No way," Eli said, a playful smirk appearing on his countenance as he moved on top of her and pinned her wrists above her head. Her struggles ceased as his soft green eyes melted her to her very core. She noticed his chest heaving for oxygen, and upwards her gaze traveled, to those red, luscious lips, as the game suddenly evolved into something much more mature.

Eli leaned down swiftly and crushed his slightly-chapped lips to hers in a strong, dominating, toe-curling kiss. His tongue eagerly made its way to her mouth, his warm appendage sliding along hers, causing the girl underneath him to moan and rock her hips against his. He reciprocated the action, starting a nonrhythmic motion between both of them while Clare's hands ran through his dark hair.

Clare felt a strong flush pass through her as Eli's warm, uneven breaths of air washed against her ear, his muscles tensing and relaxing as her hips continued to press and grind against his while he peppered loving kisses all across her skin.

She finally reached her destination, a quiet sigh passing through her red lips as she came to a stop at a place she recognized all to well, her hand unconsciously finding and reaching out for the handle of the door to Eli's room.

"Woah!" Said a startled voice Clare had come to know over the past two weeks. Dr. Thompson clutched at his chest and leaned his body against the door frame while his heart tried to regulate back to normal. "Boy, what a scare," he smiled down at her. "Flowers? Why Clare, you shouldn't have."

"They're for Eli, doctor." Clare said with an eye roll, yet couldn't help to hold back the grin that slid across her face.

"Ah, right, right. Of course," he said, taking a look back at the teen in the bed. His gaze shifted back to Clare, amazed that her eyes still held the same look of hopefulness and determination that she walked in there with on day one, even after last night's scare. "Uh, Clare," he said after a brief pause, "that reminds me. Before you go in, may I speak with you out in the hall?"

Clare gave him a quizzical look, which quickly turned frantic. She tried to hide it, but she could already feel the tears being to fall from the periphery of her eyes. She jumped, however, when Dr. Thompson put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her watery orbs.

"The monitor last night was faulty, for whatever reason." He scratched the back of his head, offering a sympathetic look. "It gave us as much a scare as it probably did to you. We had to do a thorough evaluation on him after that, a more.. specific one, to make sure everything was alright with both him and the equipment."

"So, that's why no one would tell me what was going on last night?"

"Yeah, we weren't sure at first either, and we didn't want to give you false hope, just in case things turned out to be worse, you know? He had been progressing well, vitals growing stronger, even if only a tiny bit, as the days had gone on. We talked to his father this morning, and we decided that he's good enough to be taken off the respirator. Now- umph," he groaned as the girl wrapped her arms around him in a surprisingly strong hug. "We're not out of the woods yet, but if there ever was a good, positive sign, this would be it."

Clare pulled back, feeling so many emotions course through her: happiness, relief, astonishment. She started laughing and crying at the same time, so overwhelmed with emotions that she just couldn't contain it. She brought her free hand up to her mouth as the tears continued to pour; they were happy tears this time, tears from a woman whose prayers have finally been answered.

She thanked the doctor with another strong hug, then, with a deep breath, walked into Eli's room. She was greeted by the constant blips and beeps from his heart monitor, something she had grown quite accustomed to these past weeks. She stopped after stepping not more than a few feet into the room, and gasped. The curtains were pulled aside from the window, allowing the sun to flood into the room, hitting his body, seemingly invigorating his form – his skin turning a more healthy shade, his cheeks looking warm with life. He looked… like Eli.

"I brought you some new flowers," she said after shaking herself from her daze, setting down a lone white flower next to his bedside. "They're daffodils; the shopkeeper said they signify rebirth and new beginnings. I hope you like them."

She pulled the chair from the corner next to his bed and sat down. As was routine by now, she carefully took ahold of his hand, except this time, she turned it, palm up. She placed her cross necklace into his hand and closed it, smiling as the memory of her receiving the necklace flashed briefly through her mind. She leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the top of his hand, then covered it with her own.

She talked to him about anything and everything, covering both specific events and nothing in particular. She hoped that it made him feel unforgotten, that she wouldn't leave his side, and that it showed him how she loved him more than he could ever know. She tried - and failed - to stifle a yawn for the fourth time in the past couple minutes. Once she heard that Eli had been taken off the respirator, it was as if a giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders that she didn't even realize she had been carrying. It was nice to finally slow down and sink into the comfortable chair. She stopped chatting after a while longer, and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth that passed from her hand into Eli's, and back again. It was amusing, to anyone who may have came in and looked at the couple hard enough to notice, that Clare's breathing began to match Eli's.

A little while later, she awoke, and noticed a hand, larger than hers, holding onto her in a warm, familiar grip. She blinked slowly as she stretched, still vaguely aware of the grip on her hand. She turned her head, sure that it was all in her head, and saw him. Her eyes grew large, her mouth hung agape, as her brain processed the figure before her.

Eli lay propped up on his back, his thumb still swirling soft circles on the backside of her hand. He wore a soft smile, his green eyes reflecting genuine love back into her crystal blue eyes, which he swore were utterly mesmerizing, breathtaking; the same ones he had noticed above everyone else. They were the eyes of a goddess.

"Hello, beautiful," he said, his voice holding a silky quality.

Clare bit back tears and launched from her bed into the arms of the man she loved with every fiber of her being, hugging him hard enough to put him back into a coma, but he didn't mind. He tried to stay strong for her as her tears began landing on his neck. After all, she was the reason he was here. He came back for her.

"Hello, E-Elijah," she said through shaky breath next to his ear, unsure and uncaring if this was another one of those cruel dreams of hers. "I've missed you soooo much!" she said, accentuating the point with another hard squeeze.

"Eli," he corrected her with a soft, loving voice.

Yes, everything was truly perfect. It was like Heaven.

Author's Notes: Annnnnnnnd that's a season wrap for this fanfic. I really want to know what you guys think about this (don't I always? Honestly, us authors are very demanding. Now give me your pudding!), do you think Eli died? Do you think Clare died? I mean, after all, it was like Heaven.

But positive thinking does go a long ways, and always being there for him, the same way he said he'd be there for her in the first chapter. Clare still couldn't help but call him Elijah yet again, how cute.

Do you think they got it on at Eli's house? And if so, does that change your opinion about what happened in his hearse in chapter four?

Any other things you guys can think of? Maybe something I'm even missing that you guys may have picked up on, let me know, I love to hear from you guys – and I practically respond to all reviewers.

A few more shout outs to... YOU GUYS! You readers/reviewers (especially the reviewers, because if you just read, I don't get to know you. And I die.. a little inside when that happens) are awesome.

The Lace Masquerade is a great Degrassi fanfic, you all should check it out, if you haven't, go do so, because it's goooooood.

Peace for now!

Edited: 12/10/12 working on chapter 6. I hope to do it justice for all of you ^^