HI HI! This is an update years in the making, and I'm sorry for that, but honestly I lost my muse for such a long time. I hope yall will still happily read and review, because honestly I'm feeling inspired by these characters again!

Thanks: Mack


"When I think of what qualities I hope to have in ten years time, there are a couple of things that come to mind. Resilience is the first." Eli Goldsworthy said to his third period creative writing class, channeling a pointed look at his writing partner, who smiled under his gaze.

When Eli had given his project for the week a second thought over the weekend, he realized that Marisol deserved an homage in his piece. The last few weeks had inspired him to be a better person than the boy who had called her out in front of his class. She was the furthest thing from the dumbest person he had ever met. After all, he'd met Jake, and while he liked the drugs that Jake did, they made him pretty damn idiotic.

"The second is the strength to stand up to the people who hurt me." The way that Marisol had walked away from every comfort she'd known simply because she was fed up was something that Eli found remarkable. Sometimes he wondered if he could have the courage that she held in her small body to stand up for himself in that way.

"The last quality I hope to have in the future is a sense of peace. There isn't much of that in the world today. But if there is anything my short life has taught me thus far, is that peace can be found in places you never expected." He nodded his head to signal his final sentence and the room erupted in applause, mostly due to Marisol's initial claps. He walked past her to his seat and she smiled wide, giving him a goofy little head bob. There were more people in the lineup of presentations, but Marisol looked back at him and pointed to her phone. Eli stealthily removed his phone from his jacket pocket and smiled down at the text he saw on the screen.

*Ur already the most resilient emo I know ;P*

He could have laughed out loud but he saved it for the bell. As Eli exited the room he smiled wide at Marisol. She smiled back and pulled him in for a surprising hug, which colored Eli's cheeks in a way that he'd hoped no one would ever see again.

"Why are you the most brilliant writer I know?" She asked, squeezing his shoulders and smiling brightly up into his face. He was about to respond when he felt a looming presence next to them.

"Is this why you haven't been answering my texts, Mar?"

Eli looked up and there were Mo Mashkour and Jake Martin, Mo's personal bulldog. Eli had plenty of reasons to resent Jake, but comparing him to a dog was possibly a new low for Eli's thoughts. Marisol stammered, unsure of what kind of ambush this was, but regained her composure.

"Did I, or did I not, tell you that I needed some space? Because I think I was very clear on that when I responded to your first text after my mother's funeral, which you showed up to uninvited, mind you." She said, her voice shaking a little at the mention of her mother. Mo scoffed at her.

"Yes, the three words '*I need space*' were crystal clear. Just like this whole situation right here in front of my damn salad." Marisol's jaw fell open at his truly terrible joke, which was when Eli decided to step in.

"Look, Mo, there's nothing going on between us. We're writing partners *for this class,* and that's it. So can we either take this to the parking lot after school or act like we have some civility, because frankly dude, I didn't know you could long jump to such a conclusion." Eli said, his smirk landing him with a square punch to the jaw.

An eruption of noise broke out and suddenly there was a shuffle of phones from pockets to record any other blows that might come, sneakers squeaking across the floor to get away from the drama, and lastly, Dawes leaving her classroom at the commotion.

"MR. MASHKOUR." She called, her voice enough to part the crowd that had gathered where Mo hulked over Eli. Marisol was crying, begging Mo to stop and pulling at his arm. "Ms. Lewis. Mr. Goldsworthy. The principle's office, immediately."

"Fuck." Mo said under his breath, and if looks could kill Eli would certainly have been Mo's first victim. Eli bled from the nose, droplets falling in the hallway as the three of them sulked toward Simpson's office.

If Eli were telling the truth, he barely acknowledged that Mo and Marisol had even been dating. They were rarely seen together at school in the first place, but it seemed as though they had become distant in the time that Marisol had been away from Degrassi after her mother's death. While Eli normally wouldn't mind taking a punch with good reason, he felt highly irritated by Mo and by the entire situation. His old resentments for Marisol, the person he thought she was before, began to bubble back up, but only as long as it took for his nose to stop bleeding. It was absolutely not her fault that Eli had made a fat joke about Mo. It was in his nature to be snarky, which is what he expressed to Simpson,, who only slightly laughed though it was the wrong emotion to portray for a man of his stature and position. Principle Simpson cleared his throat.

"Regardless of who threw the first punch, we have a zero tolerance policy for violence, gentlemen. You are both suspended for one week. Ms. Lewis, you are not, you are a victim here if nothing else. I understand that this is not an ideal situation for the two of you, as you will be graduating in five very short months, but given you are on your best behavior for the remainder of the year, I will strike this from your permanent records." He said in an understanding voice. The three of them exhaled at his admission, and thanked their lucky stars that he was a sympathetic educator, who understood jealousy all too well.

The three of them left the principal's office, Mo and Eli with instructions to go only to their lockers and to the parking lot. Marisol lagged behind, feeling immensely guilty for what happened, although she had no control over Mo's actions. She watched him as he skulked toward his locker's hallway. If only she had just been responsive to Mo when he asked how she was instead of trying to distance herself from everyone in her life. It had become so easy. When Katie went to rehab the previous spring, Marisol had leaned on Mo heavily because at that point, he was the only person she had, but when Katie came back over the summer, things changed. Katie and Jake were off and Katie and Drew were back on, which had created a lot of contention for Mo and Marisol. She had been trying to disappear from him for a while because he made everything so *awkward*.

Things had really ended at Christmas, when she told him that she thought they may be better off just being friends. Mo hadn't liked it, but he cared for her, and wanted her in his life in some capacity, but that had only been two months ago. He was still regularly attempting to contact her, checking up on her and her family when her mother passed, and she had appreciated it, but it had all become too much. She felt that she owed Eli an explanation, so instead of going back to class, she followed him to his locker. Her shoes clicking got his attention right away, and he smiled, his jaw a bit swollen and his right nostril full of tissue. She looked down at her feet, feeling unsure of herself.

"I know that look. And that look tells me you feel guilty. You should. This face is too beautiful to be messed up." Eli said, gesturing to the tissue in his nose. Marisol laughed and pressed her hand to her brow.

"I'm sorry that Mo took out being pissed that I dumped his ass on you. It's rather unfair. I was hoping I could make it up to you by giving you a ride home?" Marisol asked; Eli gasped as he threw his backpack over his shoulder and shut his locker. "What? Ditching for me?" He teased. "You got room in that convertible for a bike?" He added, the smirk still in tact, no thanks to Mo. Marisol smiled widely and nodded, reaching out her hand for his arm.

"Duh, who gives a shit about Power Squad?" She said with a giggle. Eli's heart skipped a beat at the sound. He really did have a shot, especially now that Mo was out of the picture.