I spent a quarter of the summer watching and obsessing over The Boiling Point episodes. Yeah, yeah, I'm an Eli fan. Who isn't? But I also love Drew-when he's not screwing up his relationship with Alli, that is. Since the break is obviously not going to be covered on TV, I'm writing it. I hope you like it...

Chapter 1: Maybe

"Here." Clare tossed the carton of ice cream to Alli, who was curled up in a ball on the couch. Alli was supposed to be trapped inside her own house, just as Clare currently was, but she'd managed to sneak out and escape to a safe haven under her parents' noses. Besides, Sav was in much bigger trouble than she was—though Drew's mother was an evil hag, Drew had at least defended her afterward. That's what Alli suspected, anyway. She wasn't even sure if her boyfriend… her ex-boyfriend was nice enough to stand up for her anymore.

The point was, Audra Torres hadn't told Mr. and Mrs. Bhandari all the details of their daughter's alleged situation in the boiler room. But Alli, like Clare, was still grounded.
Clare's house wasn't the ideal safe haven an outsider might imagine, but it was better than Alli's house, where her mom and dad were constantly screaming at Sav for disappointing them, as well as having such a 'common whore' for a girlfriend. They weren't much better than Drew's mother.

On the other hand, Clare's parents were just glad that she hadn't died. They were still furiously upset with her, yet trusted her enough to leave her alone in the house for the night, expecting her not to leave or to invite any friends.

That was stupid.

Sav, Holly J, Alli, Clare, Drew, Eli, and especially Fitz—they were all in trouble for being out and around while the school was in lockdown, and Mr. Simpson hadn't held back when reporting to their parents. The break was promised to be hell for them.

Clare could see that Alli was biting her lip and trying to keep herself from complaining about the ice cream. Clare knew she hated anything coffee flavored that wasn't actually coffee, and the fact that she wasn't speaking her mind at the moment proved how upset she was.

"So, you're not reuniting with Drew any time in the future?" Clare dared to ask.

Alli's ferocious glare burned into her best friend's bright blue eyes with a fire so blistering hot that Clare was afraid her own irises would pop and burst into flames under Alli's heated gaze.

"I'll take that as a no," Clare said, attempting for a breezy tone of voice.

Alli softened somewhat. She pulled off the lid of the carton, dug her spoon in, and quipped, "What about you and Eli? Everything's just fine and dandy, isn't it?"

Her voice, permanently sarcastic as usual, was comforting. "Uh, not really," Clare said, clearing her throat. She took her own spoon, plopped down next to Alli, and stabbed the utensil into the hard, frozen ice cream. "I'm not sure if I want to be with him anymore."

Alli choked on her mouthful of ice cream, whether from the taste or Clare's words. "Why? It's not like he cheated on you or anything."

That was true. "Yeah, but he tries to get killed at every chance he gets."

"So you don't want a dead boy on your hands." It was a statement, not a question, and a blunt one at that.

"I don't want to get hurt again!" Clare exploded. "KC was enough. Eli… Eli practically killed his last girlfriend. And even after something as—as tragic as that, he doesn't even try to be more careful." She tugged her spoon out with more force than needed. It clattered to the floor, ice cream flying everywhere.

"Hurt," Alli repeated stiffly. "Like, hurt if you found out Bianca DeSlutsa went down on him?"

Clare flinched. "Alli…"

Her arms dropped limply to her side."I'm the hurt one. Not only did Drew give in to Bianca, but his mom also called me a whore—and at the moment, he just stood there and let her do it!"

Clare reached out to soothe her friend, but her phone jangled a familiar tune before the reassuring words could leave her lips. Alli, her boyfriend troubles temporarily forgotten, felt her eyebrows arch reflexively. She was surprised Clare still had her phone—her own cell phone, like her brother's, had both been taken away by their parents. Alli was beginning to suspect that Clare's mom and dad didn't know the whole truth about what had happened on Vegas Night.

"It's Eli," Clare said simply, not even bothering to check the screen. Confusion and panic settled over her doll-like features. "Should I…?"

Alli lifted the ice cream carton from her lap and cradled it in her arms. "Cuh-lare, what happened to being unsure about sticking with him? What happened to that tough-girl rant of yours?"

Clare stopped, set her phone down on the coffee table, and held her head high. "You're right," she agreed. "Boys can be stupid. We'll figure this out together. A two-week break is enough time for…" Her face blanked at a sudden realization. Finishing her sentence, she uttered, "…for Eli to hook up with car-wash girl."

Alli's eyes widened as Clare yelped, snatched her phone up, sifted through her speed dials…

"Stop!" Alli yanked the phone from her hand and pressed END. "What's wrong with you, Clare?"

She looked down, focusing on her shoes. "I love him."

"I know," Alli said briefly. "And I loved Drew. Maybe I still do." Her jerky, robotic movements and heartbroken expression betrayed the hurt she was struggling to hide.

"Maybe," Clare echoed, and she sat down once more.

Drew pushed the door open ever-so-slightly, creating a small inch of space to peek through. His mother, curled up beside his father, had passed out from the cold medicine she'd taken an hour ago. Audra had fallen sick after lecturing her son and dealing out the punishment nights before, and decided to drag everyone else—except Drew—along with her. Omar, Drew's dad, was sick as well, and Adam was blowing his nose every two minutes. They'd all gone to sleep early, influenced by the pills they'd taken, while Drew waited and watched.

Drew's father snored loudly in his sleep, and his mother made whistling noses like a kettle. Their strange, harmonized duet was a sure sign that they wouldn't notice if he escaped to the Dot before it closed for the night.

Plenty of Degrassi students visited the Dot on break, especially when the sky grew dark and the moon drifted into view. Drew had already bumped into Holly J and Sav there, and a part of him was hoping that Alli would sneak out as well. It was very likely that Alli had managed to masterfully escape from her parents' watchful gazes, but it was less likely that she had done so just to go to the Dot, especially if her brother was constantly there, making out with his girlfriend.

Still, Drew had faith, and his dreams weren't completely crushed when he stepped into the Dot and saw that Alli wasn't present. He spotted another familiar face instead, and was slightly surprised to see him there, headphones on and fingers drumming along to the beat.

"You're here, too?" Drew asked incredulously, sitting across from the boy in black, who immediately pulled off his headphones. "I expected you would get the worst shit from the 'rents. None of the parents in this area are doing their job right."

Prior to this encounter, Drew had shared about two sentences with Eli Goldsworthy in his lifetime, and those sentences had only been spoken due to the fact that Eli was Adam's best friend. Still, Drew was relieved to see someone else from Degrassi. There were other people Drew knew from school, like Riley and Zane, who were grinning at each other over a table, but Eli was the only one who had been part of the running commotions during Vegas Night.

"My parents don't really care," Eli shrugged. "They gave up a long time ago, though they're still pretending to be 'normal' by grounding me. I escaped." His words seemed to be laced with a long, unspoken 'Duh!'.

"Sounds like the opposite of my mom," Drew said, settling in for a long complaint session. "She was so angry she got sick. It's only been a couple of days, and my break's already a load of crap." He paused. "Hey, have you seen Alli Bhandari around here?"

Eli shook his head. "Have you seen Clare Edwards?"

The two teenage boys stared at each other.

"Oh," said Drew, though neither of them had commented on the obviousness of each girl's location. Girls tended to hang out with each other a lot more than guys did. "That explains a lot."

Eli glanced at him silently. He shifted slightly, and his guitar pick necklace swung into Drew's direct line of vision. Drew wasn't one to judge others on who they hung out with, but he was starting to wonder why his stepbrother liked this kid so much. He was so quiet that you would've thought he was mentally planning out your murder. Their peers at school called him 'emo', a derogatory term, but Eli was the farthest thing from emotional. He showed absolutely no emotion at all. His feelings seemed to be locked up, booby-trapped, and guarded by twenty armed soldiers.

"Hey," Drew said, trying to sound calm and easy. "You're creeping me out, man."

A sarcastic smirk swung itself onto Eli's face. Drew had seen Adam mimicking it before, and he was unsurprised to discover that Eli was the source. "Sorry," he apologized. "You're just so different from Adam. You guys don't seem related at all."

Drew raised a brow. "We're not."

"Really? He always refers to you as his brother."

"Stepbrother," Drew corrected. "We've been stepbros since we were little kids. We're brothers, but not by blood."

Eli lapsed back into silence, and Drew quickly grabbed the opportunity.

"By the way," he said casually, "I think you're scaring away that girlfriend of yours."

His only reaction was a twitch of his nose. "And this is coming from…?"

Drew huffed. "From the guy who screwed up his only good relationship. I know. No need to shove it back into my face."

Eli allowed himself a lazy grin, and Drew had the feeling that he'd just made a strange, very strange new friend.

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