She was his addiction. All there was to it. Her cinnamon curls, bright blue eyes rimmed in black, and her silvery pale skin with rosy cheeks. That barely summed up the girl he was falling madly in love with. Eli snapped out of his daze, going back to his French exam. That caused him to slip into another daydream – when he had kissed Clare.

This one kiss was unbridled, though he kept it short and sweet, but it wasn't for a project. There was no excuse this time. It was purely on whim and it was surely driving him insane just thinking about it. She was just so amazing, every time he thought he figured her out, she'd add something else to the puzzle. Maybe he was just a bad influence. Made sense. He questioned the few acquaintances he had in this school about her. She had been a prude, straight from the book girl. One 'friend' even showed a yearbook picture of her from last year – and it surprised him.

Her hair was long, in a ponytail. Her eyes were covered in the gold-rimmed glasses he had run over, and braces were on her teeth. She even committed social suicide by wearing a uniform up until the second half of her freshman year.

Now, her hair was cut short, and was usually in tight curls. He always wanted to play with one, twirling a reddish curl in his fingers while he kissed her. Her eyes weren't covered by those awful glasses, and her teeth were white and perfectly straight. And her outfits, dear lord, her revealing, yet, innocent outfits...Adam poked Eli with a pencil, snapping him out of his daze. Making him return to his exam. His eyes wandered to clock and he groaned inwardly, hating the annoying ticking sound it made.

"Dammit." He whispered, realizing it was only fifteen minutes into the exam.

This would take forever. After that kiss, he was sure to die within the next hour and forty-five minutes. He scanned the front page of the paper, startled when the first page was dedicated to affectionate names to another in French. He zipped through that section, unfortunately using Clare's name as an example each time. An hour went by and he was nearly finished with the exam, finishing the fourth to last page.

His mind wandered as he realized he was forty-five minutes away from Clare. He wanted to kiss her again; he wanted her to let out a breathless sigh when he pulled away. She gave him space; she didn't push him until he was ready. And, for the first time since Julia's death, he felt loved. Clare was willing to wait for him; she risked her heart just to be with him. If that wasn't enough for him to make up his mind, he didn't know what else would. He finished the packet, placed his pencil down and rubbed his sore hand. Eli glanced at the clock, thanking that there was only ten minutes left.

He smirked, becoming smug as he played the scene through his mind once again. And again. And again.

"Hiding from the po-po?" He chided, enjoying the surprised jolt she made.

"Just looking for a book," she lied. That just proved his assumption that Clare was the one who was behind the stink-bomb.

"Saving the world one stink-bomb at a time." He teased, enjoying her startled expression. But, she didn't deny it, just gave a shy smile. "I knew it was you!"

"Someone had to stop Fitz from fighting Adam. One second more and he would've kicked Adam's butt." She pleaded, trying to convince herself more over.

"I was the one he was gonna kill." He said, a crooked grin placed on his fine features.

"Simpson's coming over. He knows I did it. I'm going to get expelled." She whimpered, peaking through the books shelves.

"Three days suspension max." He retorted, smirking as she started to have a mini-meltdown.

"Maybe I should just confess, throw myself at his mercy." She yapped, big blue eyes wide with fear.

"Let me handle it." Eli replied, then he started to walk away.

"Sir, I hate to be a rep, but I think you should question Mark Fitzgerald about the stink bomb. Heard him brag about it." Said Eli as he walked up to Principal Simpson.

"Clare, is this true?" He asked, looking behind me and over at the young brunette.

"Possibly," she replied while her eyes looked down.

"Okay, I'll look into it." He said and walked away.

"Justice has been served," Eli stated; turning around to face little Saint Clare.

"If Fitz finds out," Clare started.

"I'll handle it." Finished Eli, smirking. "Now, let's talk about something more important. Like how you're going to thank me for throwing Simpson off your scent."

"What did you have in mind?" She asked, crossing her arms with a smirk of her own.

"Well, I don't know-" He leaned in closer before pressing his lips to hers.

She hesitated, and then lifted her hands to rest on his shoulder and arm. It was quick kiss, no matter how much the other wanted it to last longer. He opened his mouth, tongue slithering onto her bottom lip, begging to enter. She responded, opening it shyly. Reluctantly, he pulled away, his tongue barely tasting the strawberry and fresh taste of her mouth. She kept her eyes closed before he muttered he had to get to his French exam.

"I think you just passed it," she said breathlessly.

He was too excited, invigorated, happy to make a remark or smirk. So he simply walked away, trying to surpress the very primal thoughts running through his mind. His lips still held the impression of hers, however soft they were, they left the skin of his lips tingling.

The bell rang, thank god! Eli jumped up and headed for the doors, hoping Clare would be at his locker. She wasn't there, so he opened his locker and started to stifle through the stuff in there. His mind wandered, back to the kiss. Back to the way she shyly opened her mouth to his. He threw something in his locker, not really paying attention to his surroundings.

"So how was your French exam?" She asked, walking up to lean against the lockers.

Eli looked over at her, expression blank, "Way too long."

And he went for another kiss, until she pulled back while sucking in a breath – his breath to be exact. He quirked a brow, seemingly worried he had done something wrong as he stared into her eyes.

"Does this mean I have a date to Vegas Night?" She asked, his worries washed away.

"Depends. Do I get a corsage?" He asked teasingly, leaning in closer.

She smiled and leaned in, they were so close, until Fitz hit the locker next to him. Eli was furious. Was he ever going to get to kiss her again? Fitz grabbed his shoulder and tugged him around. Eli had a menacing look, eyes narrowed and lips in a cocky smirk.

"Just spent an hour in the Principal's office. Someone told him I set off the stink bomb." Fitz replied, voice monotone.

Eli smirk widened, feigning ignorance, "Me and my loose lips."

Fitz grabbed him in a headlock, Eli trying to pry away. "Not so lippy, now, are you? What does a guy gotta do to get him outta his grill?"

A teacher walked by, making Fitz let loose of Eli's head. They glared at each other briefly before Fitz walked off with a threat. Eli sneered, his hair awry and the appearance he had seemed deadly. His eyes glared at the retreating figure, his sneer still intact before finally turning away.

"Dude's a menace." He stated, sneer disappearing as he returned his attention to Clare. "Someone needs to teach him a lesson."

"Cause that worked so well last time." She snapped. "Can't you two kiss and make up?"

"Not really my type." He remarked, going back to his locker.

"I'm serious, Eli. Someone could get hurt." She whimpered, the idea of Eli with another bloody lip was unbearable. But her thought quickly changed, imagining sucking on the wounded lip...she looked down in embarrassment before gazing back up at Eli. Her expression serious.

"The only way to avoid a bully is to keep him scared." Eli said, closing his locker and snapping the lock shut.

"Or you could lay low with your girlfriend?" She asked cautiously, eyes averting his own.

Eli looked at her, his eyes dead serious before the familiar smirk marked his lips. "Twist my rubber arm," he teased. "Girlfriend."

Clare smiled, elated and took his hand before wrapping it around her neck while her free arm went around his waist. Finally, he stole a kiss with her as they walked down the halls; she even dared to nibble his bottom lip. Thus, exciting him and pulled her under the stairs near the boiler room. She seemed nervous, until it melted as he finally kissed her. His mouth was needy, attacking her own anxiously. Eli slid his tongue over her lip, coaxing her to open. She opened her own mouth shyly, making a surprised squeak as his tongue slid across her teeth. She was pressed against the brick wall, out of sight, hands fooling with his silky hair.

His hands clutched the fabric of her shirt on the sides. He didn't want to push her, but he couldn't help but to slid his hands under her shirt to the small of her back. She didn't back off, simply hugged him tighter as his nails tickled her back. He set her of the small slanted ledge for support. She wanted him as much as he wanted her – maybe. Eli knew about her purity rings, so he knew they weren't going to be doing it anytime soon. But she hesitantly locked her ankles behind his back as he pushed her against the wall harder. Clare was never the rebellious type. Until she met Eli. He brought out a whole new side in her, one that she both feared and admired. She risked skipping class, ruining a project because she was mad, setting off a stick bomb. And now this, a hot make-out session near the boiler room.