Title: Midnight
Pairings: Zach/Claire Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kring & Co.
AN: This takes place after 1x12 Godsend

Claire dropped her bag unable to carry its weight any longer. She pushed her long curly hair behind her shoulders taking a glance of the time on her iphone.

"Come on Zach. Where are you?" she quietly pleaded.

"Behind you." The familiar voice replied.

Claire turned around sharply. Her wide and apprehensive eyes became relieved upon his arrival.

"You're here. Good because I--" she began in a panic.

"Whoa slow down," he interrupted her. "Listen I…"

Zach sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. She saw he was hesitating to tell her something of great importance, and suddenly why she called him to meet her at the football field didn't matter.

"What?" she asked fearfully anticipating that his next sentence would shatter her heart.

His eyes couldn't meet hers; they focused on his wrist watch instead. He spoke kindly, "I know you want to be my friend and all, but we can't."

After he spoke, his eyes gained the courage to raise and see Claire's eyes flood with sadness.

"Why?" her voice broke. "Because I can—"

He interrupted her again, explaining, "This isn't about what you can do Claire. It's about who you are. I don't know you. I haven't known you for a couple years now."

He really never made a girl cry before, especially one with Claire's social standing. Girls like her just didn't care, but Claire seemed to-- very much.

Claire seemed to be swallowing her cries. "I know, but we were friends…You don't want to try to be what we were?"

He chuckled wryly. "It's not that I don't want to. I'm just finding it hard to believe what you say we were. We live separate lives now, ya know? And you and me, that's crazy."

She could barely contain her desperation. "It doesn't matter! I remember what we were, and we can still be that Zach. As long as you're willing to try."

His face lowered and his head shook 'no' before looking at her tear-stained face once more. "I'm sorry. I know you're not playing me, but even so it's too late."

"What do you mean?" she cried out in exasperation.

He didn't think he could continue saying 'no' to her much longer, but somehow strength buried deep within him ignited, and he gently continued. "Like I said we—we wouldn't play well together. Not when we lead separate lives. We have already become who we are. Maybe we could have been friends two years ago, but by now it's too late."

Zach's wrist watch went off echoing the field with a sickening beep like the final heart beats of their friendship.

His hand silenced the sound, and in so doing ending the life of their friendship.

"It's midnight. That's my curfew. I got to go. I'm sorry."

Claire couldn't stand to watch him leave so she turned her head and heard his feet walk away in the grass. As the sound of his step became so distant, she would have heard the silence of the world if her sobs didn't shake the lonely night.

If you aren't too sad or mad at me please remember to review.