MY 100TH STORY! :D

/happy.;)

((and yes, i do support step-cest (CaseyDerek, from life with Derek, anyone? ;), though it's not really incest, considering two step-siblings are not related by blood. it's basically just like dating your sisters' boyfriends' brother.))

but yeah, this is based a bit on something i read about this season, later on. Or well, actually, i'm not too sure when all of what i read happens, but yeah.

& half of you guys probably have no idea what i'm rambling on about.

yeahhhh.

(if you want me to explain what i'm talking about, feel free to ask, but i don't wanna give anyone any official spoilers unless they'd like them. :P & remember, if you're not signed in, i can't reply to reviews.

;P

have a little f a i t h, would you?
sometimes, you just have to have faith that things will work themselves out.

"...times racing, please slow down, i've gotta find my way out. i'm hopeless,
but hoping my lungs won't fail me now, cause i'm still breathing..."
-mayday parade, still breathing

It was hard for them both, hearing it from their parents. It was officially official. Glen and Helen were dating; going study; boyfriend and girlfriend; whatever you wanted to call it. The sound of her heart speeding up filled Clare's ears as she watched her mom and Glen share stolen glances and small smiles with each other as they told their children all about their new found relationship.

Clare wanted to scream. She couldn't believe it; just when things were finally getting back on track - when she was finally about to have a real relationship with Jake, something more than stolen kisses in her room before dinner and holding hands with him under the table, but never being able to call him hers (it was just a bit of fun before, that was their agreement, but things change. Their agreement changed.), this happens.

She could feel Jake tense up beside her as her mother went on about their movie dates and late night talks over coffee ice cream. Clare was torn. She wanted to be with Jake, so badly, but she could never bring herself to stand up and say, "oh, hey, I've been hooking up with Jake for the last month and I think I just may love him, so you and Glen cannot date."

Love.

It was still a foreign word on her tongue since Eli. And what with things between her and Jake being causal, she couldn't just tell him how she was feeling. And now, she defiantly couldn't. Her mom had already had enough to deal with from the divorce.

Clare couldn't just steal the happiness away from her mom like that. She knew that if either she or Jake opened up about their little 'relationship', their parents would call their own relationship off. Clare could not bring herself to be the reason why her mother would be unhappy.

So she sat there in a stunted sort of silence, barely listening to her mother and Glen's story. Not that either of them noticed.

After a very awkward dinner (at least, between Clare and Jake), Jake came up to Clare, who was helping her mother with the dishes. "Can I talk to you?" He muttered quietly into her ear.

Clare spared a glance at her mom, only to find her in the corner of the kitchen, giggling madly with Glen, instead of drying the dishes like she was suppose to be. She shrugged and dropped the dish cloth, before wiping her hands on her jeans. "Sure," she said, letting him gentle grab a hold of her wrist and lead her out of the kitchen. As they entered the living room and started up the stares, Jake let his hand fall a few inches down her wrist, to grab a hold of her hand.

Butterflies invaded her stomach as they walked up the steps in a very comfortable silence for two people romantically involved who just found out their parents were also romantically involved. Clare's mind drifted off and she wondered about the future for a few moments. What would happen if Helen and Glen were to get married? What then? It would be awkward enough if their parents broke up, but if they got married?

It seemed to Clare as if there was no way out of this, without someone at least getting hurt. She pondered on this for a few seconds as Jake threw open the door to her room, and led her in, before shutting it behind him, all with Clare's right hand still resting comfortably in Jake's left.

"First," Jake said, sounding a little out of breath. He never finished his sentence, though. Instead, he pushed Clare against the door and pressed his lips to hers. Clare's whole mind went blank. All her worries were gone. In that second, nothing mattered to her, but him and the feel of his warm lips against her own.

Clare wrapped her arms around his neck for leverage and pulled him in closer to her, standing up on the tips of her toes to get better access to his mouth, while she played with the hair on the nape of his neck with her left hand. His hand caressed her cheek gently as she did so.

"Mmm," Clare muttered, pulling away. "Not that I'm complaining, but is that the only reason we came up here?" She asked, flushed, a little out of breath, and looking thoroughly as if she just rolled out of bed. Someone else's bed.

Jake stared blankly at her for a few moments, making Clare want to giggle. He shook his head a little bit, before speaking. "I don't think we should tell our parents about us," he said, gesturing to Clare and himself. Clare let out a little sigh of relief.

"Glad we're on the same page. I could never be the source of my mom's unhappiness. But, what about us? Are we just going to keep it a secret? Sneak around and stuff? Or are we going to end this now?" Clare could feel herself choking up on 'end', but she held in her tears and tried not to worry.

She looked up at Jake, waiting for an answer, her eyes wide and a very deep blue. He took a second to think, before leaning down and kissing her lips gently. "I'm game with sneaking around if you are," he said, looking up at her, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

But behind that mischief, Clare thought she could see something a little more serious. Something like... love. Of course, she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she kissed him. "That answer your question?" She asked, but instead of replying, Jake swooped down and kissed her again, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her up as he did so, making her giggle like crazy as he let them fall back over on her bed.

Clare rested her head on his chest and let him wrap his arms around her waist. "What if they get married? Or what if they break up? Or-" Clare started, but Jake put a finger to her lips to shush her.

"Sometimes," he said. "You just have to have faith that things will work themselves out," he said to Clare, smiling down at her.

And just like that, all of the worries biting at her in the back of her mind disappeared. She had never ever felt this way about anyone before, not even Eli. And maybe she had lost faith in a lot of things and people recently, but she had so much faith in Jake. And if she had to sneak around just to be with him, she would.

He was worth it, and so much more.

And anyway, things would work themselves out. She just had to wait and see.

dedicated to Sunday (take c h a n c e s), my Degrassi Twinny, and like one of the only people I know from the Harry Potter fandom who actually watches Degrassi.

O.o

i love youuu, darling. :)

(and i'm not sure if you ship 'Cake' or 'Eclare' (battle of the pastries, anyone? ;) but i plan on converting you into a Cake shipper, just like i did with Bluey, even though she had no idea what i was going on about. ;)

((also, since it's so hard to find good Cake stories & stories in general of them, and since a lot of people are still shipping Eclare, i've set up a forum for all that is Cake. Feel free to join :)

http:/ forum. fanfiction. net /forum/All_Things_Cake/95179/

read, review, & havea little faithin things.