Author's Note: Hey everybody. I just want you to know that I don't own Degrassi. I also don't own Twilight. Most of the things that happen in the plot happen here, but it's way different. Hope you enjoy! Comment and review! -DarkHeartAngel19

My Soulmate

Chapter 1: Not the Typical Teenager

"MY GLASSES!" I shouted. Suddenly a black hearse drove up and crushed my glasses to pieces. Punk music was blasting from the hearse and a pale boy with dark brown hair slightly covering his right eye picked them up. I wondered why there would be a hearse at school, and what the heck was IN it. He got out of the car.

He was not the typical teenager-wearing all black, a chain attached to his belt loop and lots of spiked bracelets. He glanced at my glasses which he was holding.

"I think they're dead..." he said bluntly, handing over my glasses to me. His hand only touched mine for a split second, but I could feel the warmth of his skin.

Who is this guy? I asked myself. Was it fate that he ran over my glasses? I realized that I might have been staring at him a bit too long.

"Uh...I-It's okay, I don't need them anymore...got...laser surgery." I stuttered. I couldn't help but gaze into his appealing green, eyeliner-smudged eyes. They were such a distraction.

He just looked at me for what seemed to be forever until he muttered, "You have pretty eyes." His eyes were staring me down. Somehow I could see into his soul.

"Th-thanks," I said as I shyly bowed my head down, "I'll, uh, see you around?" I bravely asked him looking up back at him. My palms were getting sweatier by the minute.

"Guess you will," he said, dreamily. As he turned around, opened up the car door, and got in, I almost melted on the sidewalk. I smiled slightly, as the black hearse drove away with the mysterious boy behind the wheel.

As me and Alli started walking, she noticed my happiness.

"Uh, oh. I've seen that look before!" she laughed. "I have no idea what you're talking about!" I lied, grinning from cheek to cheek.

Later that day in English class...

Eli Goldsworthy was coloring his nails in black Sharpie as Ms. Dawes was speaking to the class about letters. Clare was sitting right behind him, not knowing that he was the one that broke Clare's glasses.

"Elijah Goldsworthy. I understand your style is important to you, but could you put down the Sharpie marker and listen to what I'm saying, perhaps?" Ms. Dawes scolded.

"Okay, sorry, and call me Eli," he corrected.

"Oh, well Eli, if you don't have anything else to say, is it all right if I continue my lecture?"

"With all means, go ahead!" he smartly answered back.

Ooh! He's in trouble! I thought to myself. Wait, a second, that haircut and outfit looks so familiar... Oh my gosh! It's the guy that ran over my glasses!

"Well then...Some of the greatest works of all time: letters. They reveal the hearts and souls of world leaders, of great artists, and now, of you." Ms. Dawes lectured as she handed out the last English project we worked on.

She finally handed me my report and I expected an A, but when I looked at it, I saw a big, fat, red C. I was shocked! "Ms. Dawes there must be some sort of mistake. I've never gotten a C! How did this happen?"

"Well, your early assignments were divine but recently your writing has become distant, impersonal," she explained.

"I used complex sentence structure and advanced vocabulary!" I added, Shouldn't that be enough for me to get an A+?

Eli was rolling his eyes as Clare was correcting Ms. Dawes. Suddenly, he started to run out of ink. He swiftly got another black Sharpie and started to color his nails in again.

"Yes, but your assignment didnt' tell me anything about who you are; what you want. You can't hide behind vampire fiction forever," Ms. Dawes explained. She finished handing out the writing assignments.

"I'm not hiding!" I exclaimed.

"Then prove it...to your writing partner" she said as she turned her head towards Eli.

Eli stared at Ms. Dawes in disbelief. "...Me?" he questioned.

"Yeah, you. You write well, but you're a little wordy. You and Clare will be editing each others' work this semester!" Ms. Dawes said, seeming excited at the fact. I, on the other hand was definitely not!

"Great. That'll be fun..." I said, sarcastically. Another way I can embarass myself! Why would I want to hear his letter writing about death?

"Okay my friends, you have the rest of the class to perfect your writing assignments!" she commented, walking over to Eli and me. "We may have a very special partnership on her hands people," Ms. Dawes said, nudging my shoulder, "Like Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes!"

"Sylvia Plath killed herself!" I backfired. Elijah turned around looking sarcastically hurt from my comment.

"Ouch! That hurt...that hurt, deep!" he said, sarcastically, "Clare Edwards...hmm you look familiar. Where did I see you before?" he said, looking calm, cool and collected. His eyes were still as beautiful as when I first met him, and they were still smudged with sexy black eyeliner. (I love guys with eyeliner!)

"Um, you ran over my glasses, Elijah!" I almost yelled, but caught myself so I wouldn't shout it to the whole class. I remembered him, (I definitely remembered him!)why didn't he remember me?

"Oh yeah, I forgot. And call me Eli," he said, correcting me. He winked at me flirtatiously as I tried not to be so attracted to him. He turned back facing the front of the room and started to color in his nails again.

I tapped his shoulder. He turned around again, looking a little annoyed. "Excuse me, Elijah? I guess I better give you my number and address so we can contact each other and review papers." I tried to look like I was uninterested, but I guess it failed.

"IT'S ELI!" he screamed jokingly putting his hands on my shoulders and shaking me, "Trying to get my digits, eh?" He teased. I was shocked that he actually touched me and felt kind of dizzy, but I secretly liked it.

"Stop shaking me! And NO! It's just I like to get good grades, unlike you, ELI! What did you get, on your writing assignment, a D?" I told him.

"See for yourself! Here give me your hand so I can write down my info," he sweetly demanded.

As he was writing his number on my hand, I took his paper from his desk with my free hand.

"Wh-what?" I gulped. How can this be? I thought. A big red A was stamped on the front of Eli's paper.

"What, you thought since I wear all black, chains, and spiked bracelets that I can't get superb grades?" Eli asked, innocently, but sternly.

I was starting to fall more and more for Eli. He had this I don't care what anybody thinks attitude, yet he got decent grades! He was smart, sweet, funny...oh who am I kidding? He wouldn't fall for a girl like me!

"No, it's not that, it's just..." I whimpered trying to find an excuse.

"Exactly. You know, Clare, I'm not a slacker! I don't care what other people think of me! My style is my style!"" Eli said, protectively.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Elij- I mean ELI" I corrected myself.

"It's all good," he smiled. My face got all red. If his smile could do this to me, how am I going to edit our papers with him?

"Now when should we hang out? You know, for the assignment." Eli asked me, smirking. He tended to smirk...a lot.

"Oh, um...I'm free today...do you want to meet outside the Dot after school?" I proposed. My heart started racing faster as I desperately waited for his answer.

"Yeah, I got a ton of plans today-" My heart dropped, but then I realized he was just kidding. I gave him a dirty look.

"Ha ha just kidding, Clarey! See you at the Dot," he said, he winking at me again. Before I almost fainted, the bell rang.

We both got up at the same time, walking to the door. We were both about to leave the room, but then Eli pushed me to the side so he could get out first. What a jerk!

I then realized what he wrote on my hand.

Here you go, Clarey ;)

555-6297

"Ugh!" I grunted.

I saw Alli standing in the hallway and I walked quickly over to her.

"Isn't he just so...ugh!" I complained.

"I get it Clare, you're in love with Eli," she predicted.

No I'm not, I thought...Am I?

Chapter 2: Crushed

There he was, sitting on the bench outside of the Dot as I was walking up to him.

"There she is! Hi Clarey!" Eli greeted.

"Why the nickname? Why can't I just be Clare? ELIJAH!" I taunted.

"Hey, don't call me that!" he started to chase me teasingly as I quickly ran around the bench. It was the only thing between us.

"I'm going to get you, Clarey! Nobody calls me Elijah!"

"Not if I can outrun you, Elijah!"

"I bet you can't!" he threatened. I started running, but he ran the same direction and he ended up colliding with me and then grabbing me from behind. He swung me around and around and held me tight. I felt protected when Eli was holding me closely. We were both laughing, and when I looked up at him innocently, we realized what we were doing and he let go of me.

"S-sorry..." he apologized.

"It's o-okay...I kind of liked it." I admitted.

"Cool," he said, awkwardly. "Well, we better get to work!"

"Yeah, we better!" I agreed. Just then, my pants vibrated.

"Woah!" I yelled. I almost fell off the bench.

"Hey, what's going on down there?" Eli questioned, sarcastically. His smile was so...NO! Don't even think about it, Clare. He's too good for you!

"Oh come on, Eli. Do all guys have dirty minds?" I asked, noticing that his pupils were dilated. Dosen't that mean that he likes me?

"...Yep!" he responded, frankly.

"Oh, it's a text from Alli!"

Hey, girl! You have to come over A.S.A.P!

3 Alli

"Oh, um... I have to go! I'll have you read my story tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, bye, Clarey!" Eli teased.

"Bye, Elijah!"

As I started walking, I took a quick glance back at Eli. He looked disappointed...maybe he actually likes me!

Chapter 3: The Writing Assignment

"So, what do you think?" I asked Eli. We were in English class again before the bell rang. He adorably chewed his apple from lunch. Gulp! He swallowed.

"It's uhhmmm-" he started.

"Awkwardly contructed and very sloppy?" I questioned. I was so frustrated with myself that I just couldn't get it right!

"The title's centered," Eli said. Oh, Eli trying to be positive! He took another bite of his apple.

"Ugh, Dawes is right, I have writer's block!"

"So don't hand it in." Eli replied.

"And what should I tell her, the dog ate my homework?"

"Or you could...take off?" Eli proposed.

"You mean...skip?"

"If you want to get official," Eli replied, smirking. He took another bite out of his apple as he gazed into my eyes.

"It woud give me time to write a way better assignment..."

"!" The bell rang as a warning for students to get to their classes.

"Decision time!" Eli said, "Stay or go?" He looked doubtful of my answer.

Suddenly, I realized that I'm sick and tired of being shy and afraid of what people will think of me. I swiftly got up out of my desk, grabbed my container from lunch and darted out of the room. Then, I turned around gazing at him.

"Well, are you coming?" I asked, innocently.

Eli looked at me, shrugged, then put his apple in his mouth and grabbed his bag. He swaggered towards me. We walked together to the door, and Eli looked back trying to see if there were any teachers. The coast was clear. We hurried outside.

"So where are we going, Clarey?"

"Well how about we go to the same place as we went last time, Elijah? Outside of the Dot?" I asked him.

"Whatever you say, Clarey."

We got to Morty The Hearse and Eli opened the door for me like a gentleman.

"There you go, m' lady," Eli said, prominently.

"Why, thank you, kind sir!" I replied. As soon as he got in the car, our eyes locked. I blushed, and so did Eli. He showed his favorite smirk as he started to drive away from the school.

Our drive was mostly silent. For some reason I couldn't stop gawking at Eli. He didn't notice at first, but he took his eyes off the road for one second and stared into my eyes. When I caught his eyes they seemed to sparkle and his pupils were dilated, again.

"ELI, WATCH OUT!" I screamed as I heard a car in front of us beeped loudly. He rapidly turned the wheel as he swirved out of the way.

"Woo! That was a close one," he said, looking at me regretfully, "I am so sorry!"

"What was distracting you from the road, ELIJAH?" I teased. I knew he was distracted by my sky blue eyes.

"Uh...nothing..." Eli lied, "Okay, here we are! Look, there's no one sitting on the bench! Let's sit there!" He opened up the car door for me again, and I ambled out.

We sat on the bench, and I think that Eli was sitting a little bit too close to me.

"Um...Eli? Can you move over?" I asked, trying not to be too rude.

"Ha, no, I kinda like being this close," he said, bringing his face closer to mine. There was an awkward silence as I began to take out my paper.

"Wow. This is a switch. Skipping class to do work," Eli complained. "Okay, I don't understand why you got an A, and I got a C!" I whined. "Simple, I'm dating Ms. Dawes," he laughed, "Your writing is good, but anyone could've penned this piece," he exclaimed.

"I wrote about gun control. I say it's good!" I argued.

"Wow, controversial," Eli said, sarcastically, " I say that you care too much about what people think!"

"THAT is NOT true!" I yelled, remembering that whole incident with K.C. in the cafeteria. How horrible that was!

"Prove it," he said, smugly.

"How?"

"Scream...at the top of your lungs." Eli suggested.

I looked at him, puzzled, but I just decided to go for it. After what K.C. made me do, this wasn't the worst thing in the world.

"Ahhh..." I said, weakly.

"Ha, THAT'S the best you could do?" He smiled, smugly.

Suddenly I got up, fixed a wrinkle on my dress, and yelled rambunctiously. I sorta liked the feeling of being spontanious.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed. There were a ton of people that were shocked at my screaming and they were making faces at me, "...Your turn!"

"Yeah, not my style." Eli replied.

"What? No, you have to do it," I argued with him.

"It's not my style, so-" I started but then I interuppted.

"No! You have to...I have to-" I stopped in my tracks and glanced at what we were doing.

Chapter 4: An Innocent Kiss, or Two

The moment I looked into his gorgeous emerald eyes, I knew that I was falling for him. His soft hands were clutching my sweaty fists tightly. I accidently ran him into the lamp post while we were arguing and the position was awkward. He quickly released his grip and I swiftly sat down on the bench fidgeting with my clothes. He stayed leaning against the lamp post. He showed his famous "Eli smirk". My heart was beating faster and faster as he walked to the bench and took a seat right next to as he laughed nervously.

"So, Clare, we're done with our English project. What are we going to do now?" Eli asked. He gently placed his arm around me. His hand was warm against my cold skin.

"I-I don't know..." I stuttered. His glistening eyes were so distracting! I just wanted to lean up against him, and kiss him sweetly. I wanted to tell him my true feelings.

"What are you staring at? Do I have something in my teeth?"

I just realized that I was gazing straight at his plump, soft lips.

"Oops, I'm sorry I was just...daydreaming..." I lied.

"This is getting boring...hey, do you want to go somewhere?" Eli asked, standing up.

"Where?" I questioned; also standing up.

"I don't know. I'll surprise you," Eli said, smirking yet again.

He held out his hand for me to take it, and without question, I grabbed it. He lead me to his car and opened the door for me yet again.

It was only a five minute drive, but it seemed like longer. I looked out the window, noticing the beautiful scenery.

"Why so quiet, Clare? Are you that nervous being with me?" Eli teased.

"Oh, stop if anything it would be the opposite! You know that you would be staring at me if you didn't have to watch the road!" I backfired.

"Yeah you're right Clare," Eli said flirtatiously placing his free hand on my thigh, "I don't get to look at you when I'm driving." He made a pouting face. I looked at his hand on my thigh, filled with lots of rings on his fingers and black Sharpie on his fingernails.

"Can you not?" I asked, pushing his hand off of my thigh. Secretly I wanted him to keep it there, but I couldn't show that I liked it.

Suddenly, he swirved the steering wheel to the right, pulled over, and stared directly into my eyes. He looked serious, as if he wanted something from me. I stare back, and I felt like I was falling under his spell. His eyes were glistening, and I just thought that I should lean over...maybe he felt the same way...

"Clare, I..." he started, but stopped himself as he also leaned forward.

The kiss was like nothing I've ever felt before. Sparks were flying everywhere. He gently put one of his hands on my waist and another in my hair. I could smell his alluring scent, as my hand played with his soft hair. He pulled me in closer, making me tense up a little, and get closer to him. K.C. couldn't even come close to what I felt of Eli. Eli's kisses were way more passionate and deep. I wanted to keep kissing him forever, but he suddenly came to a complete stop and pulled away quickly.

"I- I- can't do this..." Eli muttered. He looked like he was about to cry.

"W-why? I...liked it," I admitted. Maybe he doesn't like me that way...

"Yeah, but...I just can't do this. I'm driving you home," Eli replied. He started the engine and began driving the hearse.

"Did I do something wrong? You look depressed."

"N-no, I just... I'm sorry I led you on..." he said, distraughtly.

"...Wow" I mumbled. I couldn't believe what just happened. My heart just broke into a million little pieces. How could he just kiss me, and then say he didn't mean it? How could he do this to me?

The rest of the car ride was completely silent. Then, we finally got to my house. It was the perfect time, too, because it was about the same time I got home from school. I opened the car door and jumped out swiftly to keep myself from crying until I got in the house.

"Clare, wait," Eli begged. I was hoping that he would say that it was a joke and he really liked me. But, he didn't.

"I'm...really sorry.."

I slammed the car door and bolted into the house. I looked back to the hearse, and I swear I saw a tear escaping one of Eli's eyes.

I ran upstairs to my room and leaped onto my bed. It didn't matter that I was in my school clothes and not my pajamas. It didn't matter that I didn't do any homework. Nothing mattered anymore. If I couldn't have Eli, then my life is completely ruined.

I cried myself to sleep, and had a horrible nightmare.

Eli and I were kissing but then suddenly, he disappeared. I tried to find him, and then I saw a body facing down on the floor. I turned the body over and it was Eli, covered in blood.

"AAAAAHHH!" I woke up, covered in sweat.

"Clare, Honey, wake up. You must've had a bad dream! You have to eat some dinner, you must be starving!" My mom said, gently poking me.

I went downstairs hunching over as I walked. Nothing seemed important to me, except Eli. I didn't even want to eat nor do anything. I felt like Bella Swan after Edward announced that he was leaving her.

My parents seemed to notice my unusual behavior.

"What's wrong, Honey? You seem a little down. Did something happen at school today?" my mom asked.

"No, nothing happened," I lied, while I was playing with my food with my fork, "I'm fine, I'm just not that hungry. I'm going to go to bed early."

"O-okay, Honey," my mom replied.

I had a dream about Eli again. Except it wasn't a nightmare. It was a pleasant dream. He was a vampire, like Edward, and I was a human like Bella.

Eli leaned into me and kissed me sweetly on the lips. He started kissing my neck, and then I felt searing pain. Eli sunk his sharp fangs into my neck. I became a vampire!

The next morning...

I woke up at 4:00 A.M. I couldn't fall back to sleep. I felt stupid, but I really needed to talk to someone so I turned on my laptop and went online. I couldn't believe it! Eli was online? At 4 in the morning?

clare-e24: why r u up at 4 in the morning?

eli-gold48: couldn't sleep...

clare-e24: why?

eli-gold48: i need to talk to you. im coming over now.

clare-e24: WHAT? at 4 in the morning?

eli-gold48 has logged off.

It seemed like I was waiting forever. I wanted to know why Eli didn't want to kiss me. I was sweating all over.

Clink! Clink! There was the sound of small rocks hitting my window. I jumped out of my bed and ran over to the window. I saw Eli staring at me from the ground.

"Eli," I whispered, "why are you down there?"

"I'm going to climb up!"

Suddenly, Eli climbed up the tall tree next to my bedroom window and I opened the screen. There was a silence as I helped him get through the window. I didn't approve of him sneaking in like this, but I needed to talk to him about the kiss. He grunted loudly as I pulled him through the opening.

"Shhh! Be as quiet as you can! My parents are asleep!" I whispered, bitterly, but he interuppted me with his mouth. His lips pressed against mine. Our mouths were connected. His lips were warm, moist, soft- wait, why am I kissing ELI? The last time we kissed, he rejected me!

I quickly pulled away from his lips.

"W-what are you doing? I thought you didn't want to do this!" I shouted, but then covered my mouth. I forgot that my parents were in bed.

Eli curled my hair behind my ear and brushed it against my cheek. "I know, I know...I-I shouldn't be doing this...I'm sorry."

Another bummer...why do I keep believing that he actually likes me?

There was a long pause before he spoke again.

"C'mon...I think it's time we went for a drive," Eli suggested.

"Wha-?" I start to ask, but Eli pulled my arm towards the window before I could say anything. He helped me onto the tall branch of the tree and then he climbed on it. We both climbed down the tree as Eli helped me along the way. We jumped to the ground.

"You okay?" Eli asked, with his eyes sparkling.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I replied.

We got into Morty and sat down in the leather seats in silence and I finally decided that I was done pretending to not like him.

"You know, your eyes are SUPER distracting!" I admitted. He looked at me puzzled. I think that he was surprised that I actually just said that out loud.

"Hmm...wow...Well you know what else is distracting?"

"What?" I wondered.

"Your lips." Eli held me in his arms and pecked me on the lips, but again, sadly he jerked away abruptly.

"WHY THE HECK DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT?" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I was so sick of him pulling away every time we kiss!

"I'm sorry!...I-I need to tell you something before we go any farther," Eli replied, and he started the engine.

Chapter 5: Secrets

We were sitting quietly in the parked hearse as Eli's hand was still on the wheel, tapping it with his ringed thumb. I felt really confused and frustrated because he wasn't talking. Where were we? Why did he drive me to this weird place?

"Oh...I get it...this is the part where you, uh, ditch me and I have to find my own way back home, because this is going to be the funniest joke ever! You're messed up, Eli," I shouted at him. He paused. I could tell that he was holding back tears.

"You're right...I am," he whispered to me, "I can't just be friends with you, Clare. I like you too much." My eyebrows rose up high as he continued, "...but I can't be with you; I don't deserve to, it's just..."

I looked at him dearly. I was worried about Eli and I cared about him so much. What could he have possibly done for him to think that he doesn't deserve me? If anything, I don't deserve him! Yet again, there was silence for a long time.

"...This is where I killed my girlfriend..." Eli mumbled. WHAT? WHAT THE HECK? WAS HE GOING TO KILL ME? HOW DID HE KILL HER? My mind was filled with questions about Eli's past.

"E-EXCUSE ME?"

"Last year we had a fight. It got messy; I said things I shouldn't have. She was really upset...took off on her bike in the night...got hit by a car..." He bowed down his head, ashamed, fidgeting with his rings.

I felt so bad for yelling at him like that. He didn't REALLY kill his girlfriend...he just blames himself for her death.

"I am so sorry..." I apologized, but he cut me off.

"Just like that, the closest person in my life was gone...because of me..." "I had no idea!" I admitted, regretful about the way I acted.

"It's not fair," his shifted his head my way, "Why should I get to be happy?" We stared at each other in silence. It wasn't awkward, it was comforting. I held out my hand for Eli and he took it graciously. He smirked. Now, I know that he's feeling better!

The next morning...

"Good morning, Eli!" I greeted, as Eli walked into English. "Good morning, Clarey! How are you doing on this fine morning?" Eli replied. My mood quickly changed as I remembered what happened last night.

"Actually, not that great. I'm very tired AND I'm grounded because of you! Let's just say that my parents thought we were...doing something else other than talking...It's all your fault!" I yelled it at him. "Hey, don't yell at me! I'm grounded too," he countered, as he showed his favorite smirk, "I'm just really happy I finally told you my secret..."

"What are we babbling about?" Adam asked as he sat down next to me, putting his back-pack on the floor. Adam was also a new student at Degrassi. He was born a girl, but he dresses and acts like a boy, so I consider him as one. He's Eli's best friend.

"Um...nothing..." I lied, I didn't know whether he told Adam or not.

Adam looked at me strange. "I told her about Julia," Eli explained.

"Phew! I didn't know how long I could keep that a secret!" Adam blurted out, relieved.

I gave him a look that could kill, then my head jerked towards Eli.

"You told him before you told me?" I scolded, as I playfully hit his arm. "Ow! Do you want me to get a bruise?" He complained sarcastically. "Weakling!"

All of a sudden, the announcements came on.

"Good morning, students. The Night in Vegas Dance is coming up this Friday. Get your tickets as soon as possible! It's going to be a night to remember!" Sav Bhandari, the class president, announced.

I turned to Eli and widened my eyes. He nodded. I guess I'm going to Vegas night with the announcements, I confirmed it with him.

"So, does this mean I have a date to Vegas night?" I asked Eli.

"Depends..." he replied as I gave him a puzzled look,"Do I get a corsage?"

I smiled widely. Life right now was perfect.

Chapter 6: Problems in Vegas

I walked downstairs to find Alli Bhandari and Jenna Middleton fixng their hair. They were in very snazzy outfits. (Did I seriously just say 'snazzy'?)

I used to hate Jenna, but now that K.C. broke up with her because he got her pregnant, I can relate to her. K.C. cheated on me with her. It just shows how much of a jerk K.C. is.

When I was walking down the stairs, I saw that Alli and Jenna's mouths were wide open.

"Who are you and what have you done with Clare Bear?" Jenna questioned. "Sex-ay! Eli's not going to be able to take his hands off of you!" Alli shreiked.

"Oh, stop it, Alli! He's a fine gentleman and he would never put his hands on me unless I give him permission!"

"O-kay..." Alli replied.

Later at the dance...

I saw Eli talking to Adam. He was dressed up in a red suit. That was very unusual because he almost NEVER wears colors.

"Hi Stranger!" I said, sneaking up behind him and poking him.

Eli turned around quickly. His mouth dropped. He looked down, and then his head snapped back up.

"Eyes up here, Eli!"

"S-sorry, it's just...you look...AMAZING!" he stated, stunned.

"Why thank you! You don't look too bad yourself!" He pecked me on the lips. Then, he pulled me to the punch table.

"You know who Fitz is, right?" Eli asked.

"Umm...a stupid bully who picks on people like Adam and...you?" I answered.

"Yes, and yes. So, this is what I'm going to do," he showed me a container of pills, "It's Epicac. It makes people puke. I'm going to put it in a drink and give it to Fitz. Give him a taste of MY medicine." Eli explained.

"What? Why can't you just apologize?" There was a long pause.

"Fine. I'll apologize, but I won't mean it."

"As long as it sounds real. Here, I'll go get him."

I found Fitz at his locker. I wondered why he wasn't at the dance.

"Hey Fitz. Do you think you can end the feud between you and Eli? I just want this to be over, and Eli's willing to apologize." I explained, as I leaned up against one of the lockers.

"Well, the last time I tried to make things right, he got me arrested." Fitz said. I gave him an innocent, persuasive look.

"Fine, but he better mean it," he said, giving in. Yes! Now all I have to do is have Eli apologize, and there'll be no fighting!

Later...

"Here he is," I said as I dragged Fitz over to Eli, "We're ll set up for you to apologize."

"You know, in some places, this is considered black-mail!" Eli stated.

"Eli, just apologize and get this over with!" I told him. "Yeah. Do what the lady says." Fitz teased.

"Okay...I'm sorry...about everything." Eli apologized. "Nope. That doesn't cut it. I don't believe you." Fitz replied, with the music blasting under his voice.

"Fitz! You got your apology. Is everything okay now?" I asked, desperately. Fitz nodded as I drew a breath of relief.

"Let's have a toast. To a ceased fire," Eli suggested.

"Yeah, okay..." Fitz agreed. Eli handed him the drink. Wait, what if he put Epicac in it? Oh ,no! Then they're just going to keep fighting!

"Stop!" I yelled. Both of their heads turned in my direction. "Switch drinks...it's an ancient Roman custom."

"What she said," Eli said, and they swapped drinks. Why was Eli so fond of switching drinks, and why would Eli want to drink something with Epicac in it? Oh no. This won't end well...

"Bleghhh!" Fitz started puking into the trash bin as Eli laughed and smirked. I turned around to face Eli.

"What did you do?" I asked sadly. Now Fitz is going to want to have revenge!

"Hey, you're the one who made us switch drinks!"

"Don't you dare blame this on me! Whatever Fitz does to you, you deserve!" I shouted as I stormed out of the gym.

Later...

I found Fitz at his locker again, and I started walking towards him.

"Hey, listen. I'm sorry about what Eli did to you. Are you o-" I started but then I stopped right in my tracks. Fitz was holding a pocket knife!

"O-okay...I b-better get back to the dan-"

"Oh, no. You're not going to go back in there. You're going to stay right here with me, because when he finds you dead, I'll finally have my revenge, Heh!" Fitz threatened.

"Clare! I'm sorr-" Eli started saying as he was running towards us. Fitz had me at knife point. I was about to pee my pants.

Eli stopped running. He was gaping at the knife in Fitz hand. This was the most scared I've ever seen Eli. He blinked, and started walking a lot slower towards us.

"Fitz, put the knife down, and we can talk."

"Not gonna happen. I'm going to finally get my revenge on you!" Fitz said as he shifted his hand in a jabbing ready motion.

This is it. I am going to die, right in front of my boyfriend. I won't be able to ever have a real date with him, or marry him, or have kids with him. I started to tear up.

"I-I love you, Eli," I whimpered, flinching to get ready for the hit. Fitz lifted his hand a little and started to jab it towards my stomach.

"CLARE NO!"

Chapter 7: I Love You

"Eli! Oh my gosh! Somebody call the ambulance! Get help quick!"

I looked up at Fitz face as I was crouching on the ground hovering over Eli. He looked sad and regretful. He scampered away, still clutchng the bloody knife. It didn't matter if Fitz was sorry, the deed was done.

I looked over at Eli and saw that he was grasping his left shoulder and his clothes were soaked in blood. There was also a big pool of blood around his body. He was crouching on the ground in pain, whimpering, "C-Clare...I-I'm s-so sorry! I-I should've listened..."

"No, Eli. Don't be sorry. We need to get some help!"

Eli was still shouting in pain. I pecked him on the cheek and tried to comfort him as I tried to help him up.

"I love you Eli!"

"I love you too, Clare...O-ow!"

Eli gasped, probably surprised at how much pain he was in from just standing up. "Are you able to stand up on your own?" I asked him. "Y-yeah, I'm fine,' he started saying, but then he fell over and crumbled in excruciating pain.

"We need to get you to the hospital!"

As if there was a guardian angel answering our prayers, the pyramedics arrived seconds later. They loaded Eli on to a stretcher in the middle of the hallway.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked, fearful of what the answer might be.

"He might be paralyzed in the left arm because the wound is deep, but we're not sure yet," one of the pyramedics replied. PARALYZED?

"I'm coming with you, Eli," I told him. I followed the pyramedics to the ambulance outside of the building.

"Sorry, but you can't come into the ambulance with us," the pyramedic explained. I was sick of being excluded.

"I don't care," I shouted, "I'm coming in the ambulance with my soulmate, and nobody's going to stop me!"

The car ride was the longest wait I've ever had. I glanced at Eli, with his eyes shut, and his breathing harsh. It must be a big gash for him to be this much in pain.

When we arrived at the hospital, I followed the team of pyramedics to the emergency room until one stopped me again.

"Okay, Sweetie, you got to ride in the ambulance, but now you really have to wait in the waiting room. We need to perform this operation, stat, and you can't be in here," he told me.