Cameron's reaction was stiff. Eli could feel him half resisting as he moved his lips against him. "Cameron" He murmured, as he slid his hand into his hair.

Cameron murmured something unintelligible back, and cautiously responded. After a few exploratory, questioning kisses, Cameron's hand slide around his waist. Eli shuddered at the contact. He felt unnaturally sensitive as tingles and shivers raced over his skin from where Cameron touched him. Eli leaned into him, aching for more contact. He was rewarded with a second hard curving up the line of his back.

He still wanted him closer. Eli tugged on Cameron's hair, pulling him forwards.

"Eli" Cameron groaned against his lips, some semblance of frustration in his tone. They couldn't get any closer, not with the clutch and gears in the way.

Eli broke the kiss, and climbed over the middle of the car to straddle Cameron.

"You're-"

Eli brought their lips back together. There was no resistance from Cameron this time, and he pressed hungrily at Eli for his lips to part. Eli was more than to happy listen. He groaned as Cameron's tongue entered his mouth. Shivers racked through his body as hands explored his body, leaving a trail of uncontainable heat wherever they went.

Eli slide his hands under Cameron's shirt, pulling it up as he explored his chest.

Cameron rested his lips against his jaw as he panted, "You're really drunk right now"

"Hm" Eli only hummed, unable to respond properly as Cameron's panting breath against his ear sent another wave of heat through him. Eli ducked his head, and trailed lips down Cameron's neck. He could feel his hammering pulse through the skin. He nibbled, and then gently sunk his teeth in. Cameron moaned. His response encouraged Eli to keep going.

Eli tugged at the shirt again. This time it was removed with impatience, and Cameron's lips were back against his with a feverish eagerness.

Cameron quickly undid Eli's shirt, yanking at the buttons rather than undoing them. Somehow, they came off. Eli helped jerk the fabric away, and keenly pressed against Cameron, moaning as their bare skin rubbed together.

Eli was filled with unbearable fire, and he couldn't think past the haziness in his head. He realised that there wasn't going to be anyone interrupting them this time, but that thought was drowned out when Cameron's hand slide downwards. Eli sucked in a sharp breath, and tilted his head so he could catch his breath. Soft lips pressed against his throat. He moaned. He didn't care how embarrassing the sound was, he couldn't help it.

BEEEEEEP.

Eli yelped. His already stressed heart lurched violently, and he practically jumped out of his skin. He moved forwards off the steering wheel, and the horn he'd pressed against. The sound and the scare had jerked him into full awareness, erasing the fog in his mind.

Cameron let out a short breath, leaning back in the chair. He'd jumped as badly as Eli had.

"Sorry" Eli giggled.

"You" Cameron hooked his hands on the waistband of Eli's jeans, and stopped his advance, "Need to go back over there. Leaving me as the one who needs to hold back is a very bad idea."

"Nobody's asking you to hold back" Eli ran his hands along Cameron's arms, feeling the curve of his tensed muscles and heat radiating from his skin. As his hands travelled upwards, Eli moved forwards. Cameron didn't stop him.

Just as Eli was about to kiss him, he froze. Shivers, unpleasant and cold, raced down his spine. He sobered in less than a second as the intrusive sensation of being watched filled him. His head turned to the window, as though magnetically drawn there. The glass was fogged up and impossible to see through.

Someone was there.

"Eli?"

It felt like he was in one of his nightmares. "I'm ready to go home now"

Cameron turned his head to the glass, but looked back to Eli with an air of confusion. "Did you see something?"

Eli just gave his head a small shake, and climbed back to the passenger seat. Once his eyes moved away from the driver window, he didn't want to look back.

"Okay then" Cameron cleared his throat, "I'll just get the water and-"

"No!"

Cameron jumped. He was already pulling the handle when Eli shouted. With a concerned glance and another quick look at the window he turned to Eli with a creased brow. "There's nobody there."

Eli's heart hammered in his chest as he stared at the hand Cameron still had on the door handle. "I just don't want the water anymore."

"And it was necessary to shout that at me?"

Eli would have flinched at his tone, had he not been preoccupied with the horrible feeling of someone's eyes still clawing over him. "I didn't mean to."

He knew Cameron was trying to meet his eyes, but looking at his face would mean looking out the window. He didn't want to do that. Cameron just sighed, and turned the key in the ignition. "There's nobody there."

"okay"

"Eli." Cameron reached over, and caught his chin. He physically turned Eli's head to look at him. Luckily for Eli, Cameron had leaned forwards and was blocking the view out the other side of the car. "You're just drunk. I'm telling you, we're the only ones in this parking lot. Calm down a bit."

Eli sunk into his seat. It was only once they were away from the gas station and the sensation of being observed dissipated that Eli found his voice. "I'm perfectly calm."

"Uh huh" Cameron drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Eli peeked at him, but he didn't look annoyed. If Eli had been shouted at, he'd be annoyed.

"I'm not mad"

Cameron laughed, "you're not mad?"

"Ah" Eli tried to rearrange his thoughts, "I meant to say don't be mad"

Cameron didn't comment, but continued to drive with a smirk. Eli studied his messy hair, and dishevelled clothes, before spotting the tiny red mark on his neck that his teeth had made.

The car stopped.

Eli turned his gaze away, taking in his house. "Bye"

"Mhm" Cameron caught the nape of his neck, and tugged him back. His head ducked down to Eli's neck, and his tongue caressed his skin.

"Don't-"

Cameron's teeth sank in.

Eli yelped. The sting disappeared by the time Cameron pulled away. "Bye" he repeated his goodbye in the same, short manner Eli had.

Eli cupped his neck, staring at Cameron with wide eyes. "You bit me!"

"You left more than your fair share of marks" Cameron replied, unconcerned with Eli's outrage. "Now we're even."

Eli opened his mouth to argue more, but the cocky smirk he met made him stop. "it's not worth getting mad at you for that, is it?"

"That depends"

"On what?"

"On whether you want another one"

Eli bristled, but when Cameron's eyes flashed towards the crook of his neck he retreated. He had no doubt Cameron would bite him again. After only a moment of deliberation he escaped out of the car. Without giving Cameron the satisfaction of a backwards glance he walked up the stony drive, and stumbled up the steps. He had to laugh at himself with how badly his feet coordinated themselves.

He reached for the handle, only for the door to jerk open. His dad stood in the doorway. He looked Eli over, before his features twisted into an expression Eli hadn't seen before. It wasn't annoyance, but something more severe. Worse than the face he'd made when he'd sent Eli to his room, or any time Eli could recall when he'd been angry.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" His dad's voice was low.

Eli glanced at the dark sky, and then back to him. "No."

"It's three. Three am. Three in the morning."

"I get it."

"Why didn't you answer your phone?"

Eli regarded him warily. "I didn't hear it"

"Come inside" His dad stepped out of the entrance way. Eli wobbled past him. His dad sucked in a sharp breath. "Are you drunk?"

Eli's nerves were dulled, but he could pick up his dad's anger. "I had a few drinks." He spoke cautiously, not wanting to provoke his anger.

His dad's jaw clenched.

Apparently, Eli provoked it anyway.

"You're grounded."

"What?" Eli had trouble comprehending the words. He'd never been grounded before. He had no idea what being grounded even entailed. "Why?"

"You've been gone for hours. You didn't contact anyone to let us know where you are or if you're okay – for all we knew you could have been dead in a ditch somewhere. And on top of that you were drinking!" His dad's voice rose in volume as he continued to speak.

Eli focused on him, despite the feeling of vertigo now hitting him full strength. He had to lean against the wall to fight it. "But... we went to that party the other day. Everyone was drinking at that."

His dad rubbed his jaw, his chest rising and falling rapidly. "That party was an exception. It was to celebrate Noah's win –it was not on a school day, it was not somewhere we couldn't find you if we needed, and it was something that Jenny and I discussed and agreed to. Sneaking out after school to get drunk and then come back in the middle of the night is completely unacceptable."

"Sneaking?" Eli scoffed, "I was hanging out with a friend."

"Marcus?" Jenny's sleep laced voice interrupted them. "Eli, thank god." She came up and promptly gave him a tight hug. When she pulled back her nose crinkled. "You..." she glanced at his dad and saw the tight, angry look. Hers was more concerned as she glanced between them. "Honey the medication mixed with alcohol..."

His dad's eyes widened. He must have forgotten about that. "We need to go to the doctors."

"No" Eli groaned immediately.

"The medication-"

"I didn't take it" Eli replied, "No need to drag me into the bloody doctor again."

"Why didn't you take it?" Jenny gave his arm a small squeeze.

Eli shook off her arm, "I blacked out for half a day last time I took them." Eli didn't care about the look the two of them exchange. His mood had soured, and now all he felt was tired. "Can I go to bed?"

"Of course" Jenny's hand hovered next to his, but it fell back to her side. She offered him a tired smile. "We'll talk in the morning"

Eli half expected them to walk him up the steps, but they didn't follow. As he turned into his room they were exchanging quiet words that looked like hisses. He stopped at the door. He remembered his conversation with Cameron earlier. He turned the handle, but it just spun in its place without doing anything. It was broken.

He crawled under the covers with Noah instead of his own bed.

*

His throat burned. His shoulder muscles burned. His stomach felt disgusting, no matter how many times he emptied out its contents. He wished that he could fall back to sleep, but he couldn't move an inch from the toilet.

Noah was rubbing his back, avoiding his bad shoulder, and staying with him. He'd already made him drink a pint of water, that had been dumped down the toilet, and now he was trying to get him to have another glass. Eli was ignoring him.

"Come lie down" Noah put the glass down with a sigh.

"I'm going to be sick"

The next thing Eli knew he was trapped underneath a blanket and Noah was pushing a hot water bottle underneath the covers. Eli wrapped a protective arm around his stomach. It felt tender. "Is dad still mad?"

"Yes" Noah's weight made the bed dip down. "You should have at least text me, I could have talked to him."

Eli was being pulled back to sleep. "I don't have your number"

*

Light peeked in through Noah's curtains, illuminating the empty room. Eli shivered as he came out from under the blankest. He had on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that were several sizes too big for him. As he stood up he noticed a pot sitting next to the bed, and a glass of water on the bedside table.

His stomach grumbled at him. As last night's memories came back at him full force he fought away the embarrassment. Even if he pretended that nothing happened, that wouldn't make it go away. He trudged down the steps. His dad was sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop in front of him. Eli knew he should have been at work already, and there was only one reason for him to be home.

"Make sure to thank your brother later." His dad left the table. He put on toast, and flicked the switch on the kettle. "You're grounded for three weeks. That means no meeting friends after school, no having anyone over and no laptop. Got it?"

"Yeah" Eli answered quietly. He kept his eyes down, avoiding his dad's gaze. The terms weren't bad. It wasn't as though he needed to meet up with anyone after school anyway, last night was just because he had to straighten things out with Cameron. The rest was because he was drunk. He was hit with another wave of embarrassment. Why did he drink? Of course it would get him in trouble.

"Eli" His dad's voice and expression told Eli he'd been calling him more than once.

"yes, sorry" He took the plate out of his hands. "Thank you." He turned on his heels, and rushed up the stairs before he said something to make it worse. When he went into his room he left the toast on the desk. He closed his eyes, and took in a few deep breaths.

Was this really better than being back home?

His dad and him hadn't even had a conversation since he'd moved in. Noah was no doubt mortified they were related at this stage, and Jenny... Jenny was too kind to even show any disapproval she had. All he was doing here was making things hard for them.

There was a knock at the door. His dad stepped in before waiting for Eli's reply. He placed the folded sling on the desk, and picked up the laptop at the same time. "If you need any help with that let me know"

He paused in the doorway. He turned the handle a few times, and his gaze turned on Eli. He concentrated on munching on his toast. The sound of his feet on the steps was a lot louder than when he'd come up.

*

The tension in the house was unbearable, and Eli was delighted when his alarm had gone off in the morning. It meant a few hours away from everyone. Unfortunately for him the day passed by in the blink of an eye.

He sat outside the school building on the wall, waiting for Noah to come out. The sun was out, and it blazed obnoxiously down on him giving him a headache.

"Later Eli" Sinclair and Kaetlin waved as they got into her jeep.

As they pulled out the car behind them came into view. It was a spotless navy Volvo with a flawless individual leaning against the driver's door. His golden hair was neatly cut, his stubble freshly shaved and his shirt was no doubt ironed while everything smelled sweetly of detergent. After Eli had asked if had a dog he never came near him with the same wet-dog scent clinging to his clothes.

"What are you doing here?" Eli cautiously approached him. Desmond was one of the few people , possibly only person from back home that he would willingly talk to.

Desmond tilted his head, wincing as he looked at Eli's face. "I'm sorry about him"

Eli swallowed, but joined him in leaning against the car. "It's not your fault"

"No" Desmond sighed, "Nobody has enough control over him to be able to take responsibility for his actions. Except maybe Alison."

"He'd do anything for my mom" Eli agreed, "And that's what this is."

"You need to come home."

Eli closed his eyes. He wasn't expecting Desmond to help him out, but he didn't think he'd take Jackson's side. He knew what he was like. "You know that I can't. He'll-"

"I can help you deal with Jackson."

"No you can't"

"He's not going to let this go" Desmond turned to him, his eyes meeting his with an intensity that Eli wasn't used to having directed at him. "It's not going to be as bad as you think, I know you're scared to come home after running away but –"

"I can't go back" Eli cut him off, meeting the gaze head on. "I can't."

"Listen to me" Desmond caught Eli's shoulders, making him flinch as his grip closed around his injured shoulder. "Jackson has other things to worry about right now, as soon as you're back home he won't even look in your direction, I promise." There was an edge of desperation in his voice.

"Other things?"

Desmond gave his head a small shake and let out a frustrated breath, "The details don't matter, but he's preoccupied and right now we just need you to come home."

Eli shook his head.

"Please" Desmond's grip tightened.

"I'm sorry, I'm staying here"

Desmond ducked his head, and a few strands of hair fell out of place. A foreign sight on him. "Okay."

"I'm glad you-"

"I'm sorry too" Desmond yanked the car door open, and pushed Eli into the backseat.

Eli yelped as pain shuddered through his jolted shoulder. He got a faceful of leather before scrambling onto his hands and knees and lunging for the door. It slammed shut, just about missing his fingers. The locks clicked into place. Eli wacked the window and glared out at Desmond. "Let me out – hey!"

Desmond moved around to the front of the car. When the door opened Eli crawled into the driver's seat, getting into his way.

"I don't want to hurt you" Desmond took a hold of his arm through the sling. Tears immediately pricked at his eyes. "Get into the back."

"Here's an idea" A voice interrupted them, "How about you let him out before I break every bone in your fucking arm?"

Desmond jumped, his head whipping around to the body leaning over the driver's door, boxing him into the car. Cameron leered down at him, the set of his jaw and fire boiling in his eyes was enough to make Eli shrink back, and it wasn't even directed at him.

"Back off" Desmond recovered after a second, and met the glare head on. "And mind your own business."

Eli wasn't surprised he didn't shrink back from Cameron's glare. He was related to Jackson after all.

Cameron grabbed his collar, and Desmond was yanked out of the car. It turned into a tackle. Which turned into wrestling, which turned into punches. Eli's eyes widened as he watched the flying limbs through the open car door. The two teenagers were scrambling on the ground, each trying to get the upper hand and lay into the other. Not all the hits were landing, but the ones that did made Eli flinch from the sound alone.

Their bodies collided with a nearby car.

"Ah" Eli jolted from his daze, and half fell out of the Volvo as he rushed out. He took steps towards the two fighting bodies, but there several others that got there first. David and Oliver grabbed Desmond, yanking him off Cameron and tossing him roughly into the back of his Volvo. Eli had to dodge so he didn't get knocked down. He got a close-up of Desmond's bloody nose as he did.

Zack helped Cameron to his feet. He shook off the hand, and made to charge at Desmond.

"Dude" Zack grabbed him again, "Chill – we're still at school"

Eli had no doubt that Cameron could have easily shaken Zack off, but instead he stopped. "Get lost" He spit the words out in Desmond's direction.

Desmond looked over David and Oliver individually before kicking off from the back of the car. He didn't even look in Eli's direction as he got in the car and pulled away, cutting into the traffic outside the school without stopping to look. They watched him drive away in silence.

When he was gone Zack let go of Cameron, "You need anything?"

Cameron was glaring at the ground. His lip was bleeding, and one of his eyes was staring to swell. "No" He answered shortly.

Zack didn't seem the least bit offended by his brash response. He gave him a pat on the shoulder, not noticing when Cameron winced, and started off towards the other side of the parking lot. "My sister can't be kept waiting, nice job!"

David and Oliver both looked between himself and Cameron.

Eli made himself busy looking anywhere but the trio in front of him, and spotted Noah coming out of the front door. "Well that's my ride"

"Oh no no no" Cameron slung his arm over his shoulder, "you aren't getting off that easy" Cameron's chest was rising and falling at a fast pace, and all his weight was pressed onto Eli. He was hurt.

"I don't want to keep Noah waiting" Eli objected as his brother approached them.

"I'll just have to visit then, won't I?"

e