Clare awoke to a low humming that was coming from Eli. He was sitting on a chair not even an inch apart from her bed. He looked quite peaceful as his foot tapped gently against the floor. Clare could tell from the fast beat tune that it was most likely a 'Dead Hand" song Eli was keeping himself occupied with.

He saw her eyes flutter open and a smile emerged on his face. "Good morning, sleepyhead," he whispered before kissing the top of her forehead.

"How long have I been out?" Clare asked propping her elbows so she could sit up. She felt extremely tired and worn out. The memories of Friday night were foggy, but not even close to becoming a remote memory.

"Put it this way. It's Sunday morning," Eli responded. He clutched Clare's hand and kissed the top of her palm. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My elbow hurts a little, but other than that, I'm okay."

"Good." There was a slight pause as Eli seemed to be struggling with words. "I'm sorry, Clare for this whole mess."

Clare held a finger up to his lips. Just her slight touch sent a shock down Eli's backbone. "You have nothing to apologize for, Eli. What Julia did was crazy, yes, but she had the right to feel what she did."

"She didn't have the right to almost stab you." The words still didn't register with Eli. It was too drastic, too heartbreaking to even accept what could have happened on Vegas night.

Clare sighed. "I know Eli, but the fact is that was Julia's way of handling things. What you need to look at is that I'm okay and so are Adam and everyone else you care about. "

"I guess you're right," Eli grumbled.

"I know I am." Clare let out an innocent laugh. Eli stared at her almost in disbelief how understanding she was. She nearly lost her life. What if he and Adam had showed up seconds later? What if Clare hadn't been so lucky?

"I can't believe this," Eli bellowed rising from his chair.

Clare shook as a reflex to Eli's outburst. "Eli, calm down! What's wrong?" She demanded.

"How are you so okay with this? You could have been dead, Clare. I could have lost you! You could have been stabbed! Weren't you scared or something?"

Clare's face fell as she listened to Eli. She bolted upright from her bed and grabbed his chin forcing him to look at her. "I wasn't scared, Eli. I was terrified. Do you want to know what was in my mind before I thought I was going to die?"

Eli didn't speak, but his eyes said the words his mouth couldn't.

"I thought about you." Eli's eyes widened a little. "Don't look at me that way, Eli. It's true. I saw the day we first met and I felt the butterflies you gave me all over again. I saw when we had our first kiss even if it was just playing Romeo and Juliet. Then I saw the moment that even with Julia holding a knife at me, I thought I'd be okay. It was when you finally called me your girlfriend. I felt like I had triumphed over everything."

"So you were okay with dying?"

"I don't think anyone is ever accepting of death so easily, Eli, but if I did leave this world that night, I would have been happy what flashed before my eyes were memories of you." Clare watched as Eli's whole expression had lightened up.

"There's something I need to tell you, Clare. It's something I wondered if I'd ever say to you once I saw Julia holding the knife." Clare without indecision allowed Eli to pull her close to him. His hand landed on the edges of her curls. He played with them between his fingers for a brief moment before softly brushing her cheek with the backside of his hand. Clare felt as though the walls of her room were dissolving into nothingness only leaving her and Eli together in their serenity. She was mesmerized by him at that precise time just by how he was looking at her.

"I love you."

Three words with a meaning Clare never felt before until Eli came along. He walked into her life and she didn't dare once to shut him out. When he pushed her away, she fought until he couldn't hide from her his secrets. She accepted him like he deserved to be accepted. She kissed him like he deserved to be kissed. She made him as happy as she could and through all of that she found love.

Eli misinterpreted Clare's silence. "You don't have to say it back I just wanted –"

Clare stopped Eli midsentence with a kiss. She reached for his hand; their lips never once parting as she led him onto her bed. He took the initiative and leaned on top of Clare, shifting his weight so he wouldn't hurt her. His tongue lined her bottom lip before entering her mouth fully. Clare ran her hand along Eli's spine and pulled him closer by using her free hand to tug upon the collar of his shirt. Pleasure filled Eli and he couldn't resist Clare. His hand slipped underneath her shirt as he felt Clare's stomach. As his hand began to travel upward, Clare stopped him by leaning upward and biting at his neck. Her warm breath gave him slight chills. Just like Clare anticipated, Eli's hand fell out of her shirt.

Clare pulled away. Eli sat frozen in place on the bed. "I love you too, Eli," Clare said and gave him one final kiss upon his lips.

"You're a tease Clare Edwards," he moaned softly.

"Maybe I am Eli," Clare replied.

Eli smirked revealing his dimples. "I think you're learning from me."

Clare crossed her arms. "I think you're just afraid of some competition." Clare winked and Eli instantly evaporated into Clare's arms.

Just as Eli leaned in for another kiss, a loud knock came from Clare's bedroom door. Both shot questioning glances at each other before Clare responded, "Come in."

The door creaked open and in walked Julia. Eli immediately stepped in front of Clare. "You're not welcome here," he spat.

"I know, but I had to come. My mom's right outside. I'm knife free and all," Julia said trying to slip past the awkwardness in the room.

"So, what do you want?" Eli's tone had not changed. It was bitter and uninviting.

Julia twirled the edges of her hair nervously. "I wanted to say I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for coming to Degrassi and trying to break you and Clare up. And I'm even sorrier for pulling out the knife."

Clare crouched under Eli's arm that was preventing her from stepping forward. She nodded at Eli as sign she could handle this. "Thank you, Julia. It's going to take a long time for me to even begin to forgive you, but I appreciate the apology."

Eli was still not as accepting as Clare. His defenses sharpened. Even if he had loved Julia, he couldn't feel the same way after Clare had almost died right before his eyes. "What's going to happen to you now?" He asked snottily.

"Well…" Her voice was almost mute. "My mom's taking me out of Degrassi and I'm going to be having some serious therapy for a while before she allows me to step foot in another school again."

"That's a wise choice."

Julia looked as though she was about to cry as she realized it was Eli who spoke those words.

"Eli –"Clare began in a firm tone as though she was hinting at Eli to back off.

"No, Clare. She almost killed you. I can't let that go!"

"Eli, if I have figured out one thing since 'A Night in Vegas' it's how much you like Clare. I saw it as soon as you rushed to save her. It can't be anymore clear by how you look at her. Just how you're talking to protect her makes it obvious. I was a damn fool to try and make you mine again when you clearly found someone who makes you happier than you have ever been." Julia pursed her lips and turned towards the door. "I'm going to go, but I just wanted to get that off my chest before my departure."

A nerve struck Eli at that moment. He saw his Julia, the sweet, caring, and sensitive Julia that made her a great person. Her words were coming truly from the heart and Eli could not deny that he believed her sincerity and it wasn't just another act she had schemed up. Eli threw a glance at Clare who simply smiled.

"Julia."

Julia stopped as her hand reached the handle of the door. "Yes, Eli?"

"I hope things work out for you. I'm sorry about how the events played out."

A small sense of relief was hidden in Julia's eyes. "Thank you, Eli. I hope so too," and with a final wave goodbye, she exited not only the room, but Eli's life for good. Julia had finally moved on.

A/N: Wow, I'm sorry the ending was up so late. I had a mild case of writer's block, but as you can see I got past it. The whole reason for this ending was to show the reason why Eli had fallen in love with Julia to begin with and that she is actually human aside from her previously bitchy side when it came towards Eli and Clare. I hope you guys liked it.

On a side note, I plan on writing another fan fiction; this one focusing on Adam in another school before Degrassi and what event leads him to not only transfer out, but makes him so worried about people finding out his secret.