Summary: Song title is Unfoolish by Ashanti.
As per last chapter, there are references to sexual assault and Katie’s canon eating disorder. You can skip those during any of Katie’s scenes, the first Eli scene, and Marisol’s second scene.
The next day
It was Day 2 of trying to get people to no longer hate him. On Day 2, it was still only Fiona who was on fully good terms with him again.
‘What a wonderful way to end the school year. I started this year off at this new stupid school as the school pariah and I’m going to end this school year as the school pariah. So much for a fresh new start,’ Eli grumbled to himself. There was no use in even asking his parents to transfer to a new school because he was positive he was going to gain a bad reputation there too. He was just that toxic as a person.
He was getting books out of his locker for his first class when he turned and saw Marisol walking the hallway looking very….hot. Several heads turned to admire her. She strutted in red kitten heels and she styled her polo shirt so it could somehow look tighter. She was wearing scarlet red lipstick, red eyeshadow, and long eyelashes. Her hair was styled in big, bouncy curls and big, golden hoop earrings were worn in her ears. Her legs seemed very smooth and shiny and glistened with some sort of body glitter.
It was a very sexy look for her, but Eli felt something was off about it all. Even though she wore a confident expression on her face, he could see it in her eyes that something was wrong with her. He would even describe her eyes as dead right now.
He was very, very worried for her now even as he felt desire creep up in him.
“What’s with the look today, Mare?” Katie asked her during homeroom. They sat next to each other as they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Just decided to look good for today,” Marisol replied with a shrug. She was hoping like hell that Katie didn’t pick up the significance of her wearing red. Her best friend seemed to always know what she was thinking or if she was lying about something. It was a blessing and a curse. Right now, it was definitely a curse.
“You’re not usually a red person,” Katie pointed out with a skeptical look on her face.
“I….switched it up a little. Is there an issue with how I look?” Marisol asked innocently to her best friend, but Katie only narrowed her eyes.
“No, you look great, Mare. It’s just a surprise that’s all,” her bff replied. Marisol had the urge to sweat in nervousness. Katie probably knew she was lying. She was in trouble.
“So,” she decided to quickly change the subject, “You and Drew Torres, eh?”
Katie blushed deeply to her amusement. “I can’t believe I actually have a boyfriend now,” she replied to her.
“Well it’s about time! And you got yourself a real man. He’s such a gentleman and very cute. You got every girl envying you,” Marisol said as she gave her friend a wink.
Honestly, she was a little jealous that Katie’s life was going so well while hers was going to shit with every waking minute. It was always like that though; Katie having a perfect life while hers was an utter mess. Now Katie got to have the perfect boyfriend while Marisol got fucked over by nothing but males this whole semester.
Marisol was feeling bitter.
Eli looked down in his notebook after gym and sighed.
Only Fiona’s name was crossed off his list and Marisol’s name had a question mark next to it. He and Jake were working on a project together and the guy barely concealed how much he hated his guts right now. Did it hurt as much as Marisol barely acknowledging his existence? No, but he still wanted to make amends with him and Clare before the end of the school year though. He made peace with the fact that they were never getting back together and that Clare was happier with Jake. What he did not make peace with was Mare hating him after everything they went through together.
He overheard Owen Milligan brag about something to his buddies and rolled his eyes. He zoned out the conversation as he didn’t want to hear anything come out of that asshole’s mouth. He still wanted to hate him for what he, Fitz, and Bianca did to Adam. He couldn’t believe that he and Fitz threw Adam through a door and only got suspended for it. Even without the thing with Adam, Owen was simply a typical dumbass, douchebag jock that would probably peak in high school and nowhere beyond that. He couldn’t believe the guy was actually running for president. Did he actually think anyone with a brain would actually vote for his prick ass?
“And that gentlemen is how you get your ex to keep crawling back to you for a booty call,” Owen gloated, and the other boys were cheering him on. It disgusted Eli. Whoever the girl was, he felt bad for her. He put his notebook in his backpack as he got ready to leave. He didn’t want to hear anymore of this shit.
“I’m still upset that Marisol never gave me any play,” one of the boys grumbled.
Eli froze and felt his blood grow cold in his veins.
“You should be. She’s the hottest fuck at school,” Owen declared while giving a pleased sigh, “Who keeps ending up in my lap no matter how much she thinks she hates me. It’s hilarious.”
Eli was walking over to Owen and his jock buddies before he knew it.
“What did you just say?” Eli asked, feeling rage boiling in him.
Owen looked down at him with a sneer as he laughed with his friends. He towered over Eli and gave him an intimidating look.
“Well, well, well if it isn’t Emo Boy? You know, I have to thank you for fucking it up with Mare so bad that she’s running back to me,” he mockingly thanked him while looking him up and down in disdain, “Though I still can’t believe she hooked up with a freak like you.”
“What are you talking about with Marisol? Why would she be crawling back to you?” He demanded while Owen glared at him.
“Don’t see how it’s any of your business but we’re about to start fucking again and it’s all thanks to you,” the asshole gloated.
“Why would she fuck you? Marisol hates you. She told me that you hurt her on a level no one could ever come close and that she would never sleep with you again,” Eli spat out as even the thought was making him want to hit something, preferably the piece of shit in front of him. While he had no room to speak in regards to treating Marisol Lewis poorly, she deserved better than Owen Fucking Milligan.
Owen let out a dark chuckle. “Well, you obviously topped whatever I did to her if she wrote a damn poem about you so don’t think of yourself as better than me. Isn’t the whole school calling you Eli Pigsworthy right now? Or is it Eli Manning, now? Yeah she’s going to fuck me again, because she has no option but too at this moment if she wants to protect her BFF who has quite the nasty secret, “ he taunted.
“Blackmail, you’re blackmailing her by coercing her into sex,” Eli growled out as he felt his blood boil hot now. He was starting to see red again as images of Marisol’s tearful face and ripped clothes flashed through his mind. He knew Owen was an asshole but he didn’t know that he was this much of a sick bastard. He was confused as to why Marisol was more glammed up with her makeup and hair than usual today, but now that he knew why, it sent chills down his spine. The girl he loved was in danger of being raped again.
He might commit a murder.
“You’re going to rape her is what you’re basically saying,” Eli said in a low, soft voice as he thought about a thousand ways to hurt Owen.
This cunt had the audacity to shrug at his comment. “Eh, she agreed to it so it’s not rape. She’s choosing to sleep with me and we’re both going to have a fun time just like the old days. Now you’re just mad because you didn’t get the chance to fuck her, which I understand. She has an addictive and amazing pussy. Don’t worry, Emo Boy, when she’s bouncing on my dick today after school, I’ll make sure I’ll record it and send you-“
Eli let out a primal roar as he punched Owen in his nose, with the resulting sound of bones cracking ringing through the air. The other boy let out a howl of pain as he clutched his nose. Blood flowed from Owen’s nostrils like a waterfall, which gave Eli a dark rush of euphoria.
Owen and his friends looked at Eli in shock for actually daring to hit him, and that it actually left a mark. Owen’s face then contorted into rage, and he charged violently at Eli. Eli charged back. He was probably going to get his ass beat but he didn’t care. This situation was giving him deja vu but.he.didn’t.care.
Someone suddenly held him back while the other jocks were holding Owen back. It took Eli a few seconds to realize it was Drew Torres.
“What the hell is going on here?” Drew demanded, while Eli struggled to break from his grip, but Drew was too strong. He hated being so tiny in this moment.
“I’m going to fucking kill Emo Freak over here for my nose!” Owen snarled while he had to be restrained by three of his friends. All of them looked like they wanted to let go of him.
“No, I’m going to kill you for blackmailing Marisol into sex!” Eli yelled back as he continued to struggle against Drew.
“What?” Drew asked, looking at Owen in surprise and disgust. “What is he talking about?”
“None of your fucking business, Torres,” Owen sharply replied, “Everyone let go of both of us so I can crush this rat into the fucking ground.”
“No way, man, do you want to get suspended for a fight the day before the debate and election? Let him be for now,” one of his friends argued.
Owen growled before relaxing. His friends wearily let him go, but Drew was still holding Eli.
“You’re going down Emo Boy, I can’t wait until Simpson finds out about this,” warned, while covering his bleeding nose with his jacket.
“Wait till Simpson finds out that you using blackmail and rape to win an election,” Eli snarled back, “I would gladly tell him if you report me.”
“Like anyone would believe you,” Owen scoffed, and Eli had to laugh at his arrogance.
“You really think that people would have trouble believing that a guy who threw a trans kid through a fucking glass door would blackmail a girl into having sex with him? Go ahead and report me and see what happens,” Eli spat as Owen and his buddies shoved past him, all of them giving him vicious glares.
Drew finally released him, and he looked at Eli in disbelief.
“What do you mean by blackmail? What is Owen going to do with Marisol, and why did that make you punch him?” Torres asked him.
“He’s making Marisol have sex with him so he doesn’t reveal a big secret about Katie during the debate,” Eli explained with a snarl. He didn’t think telling Simpson and getting Owen expelled from the school was going to be enough. He might opt for poisoning him at prom like he did with his equally disgusting pal Fitz. Only this time the dose he was going to put in Owen’s drink was going to be lethal. He deserved it. All rapists and attempted rapists deserved death and eternal suffering.
The mention of Katie immediately made Drew protective.
“What big secret?” Drew interrogated.
“The hell if I know, isn’t Katie your girlfriend now?” Eli asked in annoyance.
“We just got together. She wouldn’t tell me everything off the bat, and why do you care so much about Marisol when she exposed you in class?” Drew asked him, looking at him curiously.
“Because I love her,” Eli confessed, and he felt freer admitting it to people, “I love her. I care about her and I won’t let Owen destroy her after everything she’s been through. You should feel the same way since he’s using Katie as a weapon against Mare. Whatever secret he knows about Katie, he’s willing to expose it to the whole school unless Marisol sleeps with him. You can’t let that happen!” Eli ranted to Drew.
“You’re right, but what can we do?” Drew asked in worry. “Katie has to know about this.”
“The first step is making sure the sex doesn’t happen and for that Katie does need to know and be able to stop Mare,” Eli explained as a plan conjured up in his head. Katie Matlin always hated his guts but would put that hate aside for Mare’s sake, just like he put his hate for her aside for Mare. “Bring Katie to me, and we’ll tell her. We all have lunch together, right?”
Drew nodded, and the plan was set in stone.
“What?” Katie asked Eli in disbelief. She was about to eat another piece of her salad, but what Eli just told her made her freeze completely and not want to eat her food at all.
“Owen is blackmailing Marisol into having sex with him today after school,” Eli repeated with a growl. He was no different than a rabid animal right now as his face was red in anger, his fists were balled up in anger and his knuckles were white. Katie had never really noticed how green his eyes were until they were lit up in rage.
“That’s crazy. Marisol wouldn’t go for that,” Katie denied, trying not to think otherwise. She didn’t want to entertain the thought of Owen being that vile even though she hated him the minute he transferred to Degrassi with the other Lakehurst students and “swept” Marisol off her feet.
“It’s true. I heard Owen gloating about it to his buddies earlier. I punched the shit out of him for it,” he snarled.
“He’s not lying. I had to break up the fight before it got ugly,” Drew, her boyfriend, added.
“Marisol is through with Owen and she’s not sleeping with him again,” Katie told them, but inside she was wondering if it was really true. Owen had some awful pull over her best friend where she kept coming back to him no matter how awful he treated her, and Owen treated Marisol awfully every time they were together. She and Marisol got into so many petty squabbles because she tried to tell her that she could do better but Marisol didn’t believe her, or didn’t want to believe her. She was too deeply in love with Owen back then.
She thought her best friend was finally over that prick, but now Eli and Drew were both saying that Marisol was gonna sleep with him again.
Wait.
From what they were describing, this encounter wasn’t going to be consensual.
“Blackmail? That’s coercion. Come on, Owen is an asshole but he wouldn’t go that far. He’s probably bluffing,” she argued. She didn’t want to think that Owen was basically going to rape Marisol, even if he was disgusting.
“Have you seen Mare, today? She’s not herself at all, and he has everything to do with that. She was crying yesterday when we saw her. Wake up!” Eli yelled in frustration.
“Hey man, calm down when you talk to Katie,” Drew quickly barked to her defense.
“I don’t fucking care! I don’t have time to convince her that Mare is in danger and needs help. If you don’t want to believe me, Katie, then I’ll do it myself,” Eli shot back.
“There’s no need to fight with her over Marisol, Eli. This is a hard thing to believe to be fair,” Drew scolded then he turned towards her, “Look, Katie, even though you have known him longer than I have, I can tell you that Owen would absolutely stoop this low. On Vegas Night, I walked in on him trying to force himself on Alli in the Boiler Room back when we were dating. Whatever you heard about what went down between them, that’s what actually happened. I only forgave him for that for the sake of the team. But now? He’s gone too far. Again,” Drew explained with a glare in his eyes, but it wasn’t directed at her.
“But what dirt would he even have on Marisol to make her feel that she has to sleep with him? She’s not running for president, I am,” Katie asked and she was firmly aware she was grasping for straws at this point.
“That’s the thing. He doesn’t have dirt on her, he has dirt on you that he’s threatening to leak to the whole school if she doesn’t sleep with him,” Drew replied. Katie was confused for a moment. There weren’t a lot of personal things Owen knew about her except…..
Oh.
Katie looked down at her plate of food and had the urge to throw it in the trash. She was already getting nauseous as her mind was flooded with bad memories of her bulimia. She admitted this to no one but she was still very insecure about her body even though everyone thought she put that dark period of her life behind her. And now Owen was threatening to expose her eating disorder to the whole school to win an election.
Suddenly the world felt smaller.
Katie swallowed nervously as she looked at Drew, and she felt her hands get clammy. Her campaign was done if everyone found out she was bulimic. No one would want a purger as president.
“I know that we only started dating, but I want you to know that you can trust me and whatever secret he knows about you, I won’t judge you for it,” Drew reassured her gently and she nodded to show her appreciation. But she was still feeling incredibly disgusting and shameful right now. She wanted to focus on Drew’s beautiful, soft blue eyes that were looking at her with affection, but she could only think about how Drew would dump her if he found out about her eating disorder. No one wants to date a former binge freak.
However, the worst feeling was not even the fear of her eating disorder being outed but the fear of Marisol giving up her body to her awful ex so it wouldn’t be outed. How would she be able to live with herself if it happened, after everything that happened to Mare this year? Her best friend was too selfless.
From the time they were little girls, Marisol was always taking care of her and putting the most effort in their friendship. Marisol stood up for her against bullies, taught her how to wear makeup and apply nail polish, supported her during sports games and school elections, and helped babysit her little sister. She was willing to let Katie take charge of everything, even the student council when Katie personally felt that Marisol would be a better fit for school president because she had a more bubbly personality. Even when Marisol was struggling with boyfriends, she still somehow was able to put time aside for her in a crisis.
But this? This was too far and Katie would never forgive herself if Marisol slept with Owen just to keep her secrets safe.
The realization of why Marisol was wearing red everything today hit her in her chest. Red was Owen’s favorite color on Marisol and she was wearing it to please him. Christ. This really was a thing that was going to happen.
Actually no, it won’t. Not on her watch.
“I’ll talk to Marisol when I see her,” Katie told the boys grimly as she got up from her seat with her tray of food. She tried to repress any thoughts of vomiting in the toilet as she dumped her food in the trash.
Katie didn’t want her dark past as a bulimic exposed, but not at the expense of her best friend being blackmailed into sex.
She had to stop Marisol.
“You look very sexy,” Owen leered at her after the presidential debate was over. It had gotten ugly as she predicted with Katie and Owen hurling vicious insults at each other. Her best friend and her ex boyfriend never got along while they were dating and this election was a perfect opportunity to let all of their frustrations with each other out.
“Thank you, Owen,” she replied, trying to sound as sweet as possible. Giving him an attitude might make him cancel the deal. Couldn’t risk it. She didn’t even want to ask him why he had a bandage over his nose.
“Are you wearing the bra and panties I used to like?” He asked as he twirled a strand of her hair around his finger.
“Yes,” she answered with a smirk. Inside, she was trying not to get sick. Even when she promised him sex, he still wouldn’t leave her alone. She was content in sitting at a lunch table by herself but he had to walk by and bother her.
“Hot. You’re always doing so much to make me happy, Mari. You’re the best girl at Degrassi,” he complimented while looking her up and down lustfully, “Why don’t I take you to dinner after the election is over? No matter who wins, I would really like to be with you again. I miss us,” he finished.
“I’m not ready for a new relationship,” she rejected swiftly. Even if she was going to sleep with him, she was definitely not going to get into an actual relationship with him no matter how sweet he was right now.
“Come on, there’s a new seafood place that opened up last weekend inside the mall and I heard they have some amazing crab legs. I know how much you love crab legs, Mare. I’ll pay for everything, pleeeaasse?” He pleaded with puppy eyes.
“One date. That’s all,” she accepted. He wasn’t going to stop until she gave in anyway. Her dignity was already gone so she guessed there was no point in turning down a date.
“Good girl. You know, I was really pissed when I heard what Emo Boy did. I wanted to crush him up into little pieces. He doesn’t deserve you at all, and I know after everything I've done, you probably think the same of me but I promise I’m a different guy. I’ll treat you right this time. Plus, I would have killed those bikers for assaulting you, you know that. You need a big, strong guy to protect you,” he rambled. She only nodded in response.
“Looking forward to tonight, babe,” he said before finally leaving her, but not before giving her a bruising kiss on her lips. Great, now her lipstick was probably smeared and she would have to reapply it in the bathroom.
She watched him leave with no reaction in her face. She was completely numb. She had never felt so dead inside in her life.
She didn’t even want to cry at this point because there was no point.
As the teacher that was overseeing their study period left to take a phone call, Katie saw this as a prime opportunity to confront Marisol, who was on her phone.
“Hey Mare, Drew’s offering to take me to The Dot after school, do you wanna come? It’s not really a date and he says he’s paying for everything,” Katie offered her friend. She wasn’t going to come out and reveal that she knew about the situation. Instead she hoped that by simply asking to do their normal friend activities would sway Marisol to not sleep with Owen.
Unfortunately, Marisol shook her head in response.
“I’m sorry, I have something to do after school,” she replied in response.
“Like what? Chantay and Anya are holding an impromptu last Power Squad meeting or something?” Katie asked, blinking her eyes innocently.
“Nah, just some family things at home. I wouldn’t be in the mood for it anyway,” Marisol admitted, and she wasn’t really meeting her eyes. Even if Katie didn’t know the truth already, this is when she would pick up that her best friend was lying. Marisol was always bad at lying.
“Oh okay,” Katie said with a shrug, “Ugh, can you believe Owen today? I can’t believe he accused me of stepping on anyone to get what he wants when he’s a bully and hangs out with lowlifes after school.”
“Well don’t listen to him. Everyone knows he’s a scumbag and you came right back at him by talking about him being a repeated cheater,” Marisol pointed out. “I still think you got this in the bag, Katie.”
“I can’t wait to not look at his disgusting face for the next three months. He’s such an asshole. I will never forgive him for how he treated you when you did everything for him,” Katie complained, hoping she could get through to Marisol a different way.
“Yeah,” her friend replied in a distant tone of voice. There was a faraway look in her eyes that Katie didn’t like.
“He hurt you so many times and was not sorry about it all. He took a great girl like you for granted,” she continued, “Well, I’m glad he’s out of your life now. Marisol, you’re a beautiful, smart, and amazing girl and you deserve a perfect boyfriend that appreciates the powerful woman you’re shaping up to be. Don’t let one or two assholes make you think you’re worthless. You’re more than them,” she finished strongly.
“Thanks for the pep talk,” Marisol replied, giving her a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. It wasn’t working.
At this point there was no use in bullshitting.
“We’ve been friends since we were little girls and other than Maya, you’re the most important person in my life. I can’t imagine what kind of person I would be without you, Mare. You’re my sister. And it breaks my heart to see you going through such a rough period in your life....and that you would sleep with Owen to protect me,” Katie added with a deep frown.
“What are you talking about?” Marisol asked her in shock, and there was fear in her eyes due to being caught.
“I know what Owen offered you. A night of sex so he doesn’t tell the whole school about my bulimia. I don’t want people to know about my eating disorder, but I also don’t want my best friend raped in order for it to never be revealed. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself,” Katie replied in worry.
“I’m not sleeping with him. Where did you hear that?” Her friend demanded. She could tell that Marisol was feigning outrage.
“Someone overheard him bragging about it and I know when you’re lying and you’re doing it right now. You deserve way better than to be abused like that over me. Let him tell everyone I’m bulimic. I’ll tell everybody that he’s a liar and that he’s an attempted rapist. I’m tired of him taking advantage of you, Mare,” Katie argued.
Just then Mr. Perino walked back in and he had a look of annoyance on his face. So they definitely weren’t allowed to talk now.
Katie decided to do her French homework for the rest of the period. Every so often she would take a look at Marisol, who wore a conflicted look on her face.
Hopefully she finally got through to her.
The bell rang, signaling the end of History class.
As students chatted excitedly while leaving the classroom, Eli went to talk to Marisol, who was quietly packing up her bags. He was nervous for what he was about to do and how she would react to it.
“Mare,” he greeted as he approached her. She turned to face him and he was once again disturbed by how dead she looked in her eyes.
“Hey Eli,” she coldly greeted back. “You need something?”
“I know what Owen is making you do,” he admitted to her. He decided he wasn’t going to waste any time pretending he didn’t know. “He was bragging about it to his friends in the locker room.”
He watched as a myriad of emotions flooded her face in a matter of seconds. Before she began to speak, he held up his hand to stop her.
“Please let me say this. I know I hurt you and I’m sorry. I abandoned you at a time you needed me the most because I was scared of my feelings for you. I ruined the trust and the bond between us because I convinced myself that it was wrong. I have no room to judge you and tell you what to do with your life, because it’s your life and I have my own life to fix right now. It would also be valid if you never want to speak to me again after what I did. But I need you to know that you are an amazing girl that deserves everything. You deserve better than to be used and abused by stupid guys, and I include not only Owen but myself in that. You can do better than either of us because you’re better than either of us. You’re strong, sweet, and incredibly beautiful. I’m saying all of this because I love you. That’s all,” he confessed before walking past her.
He didn’t stop to see her reaction at his words.
“You’re worth more than them.”
School was finally over after a day that seemed like it dragged forever.
After putting on her Power Squad uniform and retouching her makeup in the bathroom, Marisol walked to the gym and every step felt heavier than the next. Especially in these awful heels.
“You’re strong, sweet, and incredibly beautiful.”
When she entered the gym where several football players were working out, they all turned their attention towards her. All of them were smirking, leering, or just staring creepily at her. All except Drew, who was giving her a look of concern.
So they also knew what was going on between Owen and her. Because his pig ass couldn’t keep his mouth shut for once. She should have known this was going to happen. When she lost her virginity to him, somehow the whole school was whispering about it the next day and his friends were cracking jokes about it.
Marisol was furious.
“You deserve a perfect boyfriend that appreciates the powerful woman you’re shaping up to be.
The boys’ locker room was eerily empty and quiet for once.
Owen was sitting on the bench waiting for her with an eager look on his face. She braced herself for what was about to happen. She needed to be strong for this.
“Babe,” he greeted as he stood up and approached her. “How are we going to start this off? I want your top off no matter what.”
“There’s no starting this off because the deal’s off,” she rejected firmly.
He chuckled in confusion. “What?” He asked while raising one of his eyebrows. She didn’t realize how stupid his eyebrows looked until now. They looked like the McDonald’s golden arches.
“I’m not fucking you,” she replied flatly.
“Um, yes you are or Katie’s getting to get exposed, remember?” He reminded her.
“I’m not fucking you,” she repeated.
“So you don’t care about your friend and you don’t care about having a good time,” Owen assumed.
“Not enough to let you take advantage of me because you need to boost your pride. When I dumped you last time, that was the end of us and I’m keeping it that way. There’s not enough blackmail in the world to make me want to go on a date with you or give you access to my body ever again. And that’s final,” she stated coolly. His face turned into a scowl.
“Then you’re an idiot, Mari, but I already knew that. Anyway, even if you’re turning me down right now it doesn’t matter. I still got to fuck you multiple times and you came crawling back every time,” he boasted arrogantly.
“Yeah, because that was the old me and she was a fool. But me, now? I’m a different person and the new me doesn’t care about what you used to fuck because it isn’t happening now. You have no power over me and you’re just an insignificant part of my past. A small part of my story,” she fired back and she was surprised by how strong her voice sounded.
“You’re still a desperate slut that opens her legs up for any guy that gives you attention,” he insulted her. She only smiled in response.
“Rather be a slut than a petty, lowlife bully and a shit partner. Goodbye, Owen,” she told him before turning away from him and walking away. She had never felt more powerful in her life.
Eli saying to her “I love you” earlier was the only thought on her mind as she left the gym.
The next day
Day three and a breakthrough finally happened.
“You didn’t have to help me and Jake with our problems, but you did and I’m grateful for it. Thank you, Eli,” Clare warmly told Eli as they entered the cafeteria together for the election. Clare was covering it for the school newspaper and Eli was just there to show his support for Katie. Well it was actually only Marisol he was showing support for.
He was just excited at the fact that finally, finally Clare and Jake forgave him. It only took him locking them together in the sweat lodge that he built with Jake so they could make up after a nasty fight.
He was surprised at how them being together didn’t bother him as much as he thought it did. He figured that he would always care about Clare, but if they weren’t meant to be together then they weren’t meant to be together. For now, he only cared about her happiness. And his own.
The person that actually gave him happiness was holding hands with her bitchy best friend, who was holding hands with Drew. Drew gave him a nod when he saw him. They were all anticipating the results of the election. It was pretty obvious Katie was going to win even with rumors of a past eating disorder spreading around the school, courtesy of Owen. Owen himself was sitting on the other side of the room with his friends and a very grumpy look on his face.
It was probably because he was not only still wearing a bandage on his nose but he was now wearing a very ugly black eye.
From the way Drew was glaring at Owen like he wanted to kill him, Eli could tell that a fight went down between the two. There was also the fact that Drew was sporting a busted lip right now. Eli himself wished he could run up and give Owen anotherblack eye. It’s only what he deserved.
“Hey,” Eli greeted Marisol, Katie, and Drew as he sat down next to Marisol. He expected some cold nods and a dismissive hi back.
He was surprised when Marisol turned around and smiled widely at him, showing off those dimples he hadn't seen in what felt like forever.
“Hey,” she greeted back happily. It felt good. She looked good as she no longer had that dead look in her eyes and she was back to her cute, but glamorous makeup style. Combined with her beautiful smile, she was radiant.
Everyone was tense as Dave got ready to announce the winner.
To no one’s surprise it was Katie.
The whole cafeteria clapped and cheered loudly for the new school president as she excitedly walked up to the podium to give her speech. He hated her but he really did hope she was an amazing president for everyone’s sake.
Then Katie announced Marisol as her vice-president, and Eli was eager to cheer as loud as possible for her. As the confetti cannons were shooting off, and balloons fell from the ceiling, he couldn’t be more proud of Marisol. He wished she was president instead but he knew she was content with helping Katie run the school. Whatever made her happy, made him happy.
When their eyes met, she gave him a dazzling smile and his heart soared.
There was not a word to describe how much joy she was feeling right now.
Marisol was practically skipping to her car after school. Her and Katie won. Degrassi was their kingdom to run. It was their town now. There was a massive bump they had to overcome in order to climb to the top but they won anyway.
Marisol looked up to the sky. It seemed as if the sky was never so blue and the sun never shined so bright. Today was a good day.
She spotted Eli talking to Imogen in the parking lot, presumably apologizing to her for playing with her heart too. For the first time in a while, she didn’t want to punch him in his face. It was quite the opposite really.
“Eli,” she called his name as she walked up to him just as Imogen was walking away. “I wanna say thank you for your part in all of this,” she told him in gratitude.
“I’ll do anything for you, Mare. So I guess I’m forgiven?” He asked her in hope. She answered by hugging him.
“After you buy me a milkshake at The Dot, then you’re completely forgiven,” she answered playfully. “But seriously, thank you for this. You really went beyond for me and Katie.”
“Don’t let it go to either of your heads,” he jokingly warned.
Marisol smiled sweetly before kissing him on the cheek. She felt him freeze in shock. It only lasted a moment but it was still impactful.
As she walked away from him to go to her car, she looked back and saw that he was still standing in shock with wide eyes.
She only continued to smile in response.