"Don't you trust me?"

She didn't, at first. She had to admit, never to Claire, only to herself. It would have been stupid to mindlessly trust any adult she'd only just met, especially given the circumstances. But she had been scared. Terrified. Words didn't even begin to describe the sheer horror she had felt when people started eating each other. She'd been so young, all that violence wasn't good for her.

It was Claire who kept her alive…for the most part, at least. It was the woman she scarcely saw fit to trust but she had trusted her anyway because she had no chance on her own at the rate things had gone. But it had been her now close friend that Sherry thought was going to take advantage of their unfortunate situation. She'd been warned about it before. It hardly applied then but she remembered what she had been taught. As the years went on, Sherry couldn't tell if she remembered their first meeting correctly or if she'd imagined it. An amalgamation of her thoughts that made one of her greatest fears… something else.

Hundreds of hours of therapy and pint after pint of blood lost had not been enough to scrub Sherry's thoughts away. It was odd they didn't leave. Odd to her, anyway, though she had some theories as to why. Her time in the facility hadn't all been testing, and she'd received enough of a formal education to consider herself rather smart.

First and foremost, she told no one of how she felt. She would bury it away as deeply as she needed to if it meant nothing had to change. It would be too hard to explain anyway. Trying to explain herself to doctors who, most of the time, saw her as test subject more than a person. Not to mention, Claire would likely be barred from visiting her because of it. Sherry didn't like to think about what would happen to her if she couldn't see Claire anymore.

This worry led to her second theory, which was that the reasons her feelings would not go away, was because she saw Claire too often. Regrettably, Claire was the only person even close to her age Sherry saw regularly. She knew "normal" teens would be figuring out their romantic lives around that time but she had no such luxury. By now she was barely a teen anymore anyway, so perhaps she could grow out of it yet. Until then, she was stuck with Claire who had to become her everything.

Everything.

A friend, a parent, a mentor, and an object of affection. Someone to love and someone to hate.

Some nights she did hate Claire. Sherry hated her because Claire couldn't just let her die. It wasn't exactly that she wanted to stop living, but the constant bloodletting and testing, the isolation, it got to be too much sometimes. Claire had to care too much to save her life, which was rarely a life at all. It was all Claire's fault some days, but on days they saw each other, she'd blame someone else. In person, Claire was easy to forgive.

There was always a sweetness about her. Some gentle heart that kept Sherry subdued. Maybe it was something in her gaze, a warmth, a glimmer of affection, an easy smile. Sherry had tried to be mad at Claire when she grew up, but it never worked. It faded too quickly and as she matured it stopped all together, replaced by something much worse: addiction.

She only knew adults, so she tried to force herself to think like one. She told herself it was a silly, childish feeling, and she'd grow out of it. The doctors told her that often about a number of things. They hadn't been right yet, but it was all she had to go on. She would get over this obsession with Claire and stop resenting whenever she wasn't around. She could get used to the solitude if she tried hard enough. That was important. Claire couldn't, wouldn't, be around forever. She had her own life to deal with and that was crucial to remember.

But every time Claire came around it was too hard to remember. Impossible even.

She always showed up the same way. Even on her bad days Claire would burst through her "bedroom" door with a grin on her face, arms open. It was almost as if they rarely saw one another, which was hardly true at all. At first, Claire had been kept away, but when it was deemed she was not a threat, she essentially had free reign to visit whenever Sherry was wanted.

"Sherry!" She said, pulling the girl's attention from her work, arms outstretched. "Did you miss me?"

And all too easily, Sherry gave in again. She dropped her book onto the bare white desk and sprang up, leaping into Claire's arms like some lonely housewife whose husband was out to war. It was ridiculous, foolish—"Clairebear! I missed you more than anything you know that." She giggled, nuzzling Claire's shoulder with delight.

Normal 18 year olds didn't do this right? Not that she was "normal". Adults behaved differently than this so why didn't she? Why couldn't she?

She had one friend. One friend who was removed from all of this. She liked Leon but… he was part of the same system she was. He worked alongside the people who kept her locked up. The people who used her blood to "save the world". It wasn't really his fault, no more than it was Claire's fault. They were just trying their best to get by as who they were. She couldn't fault them for caring too much, even if she wanted to now and again.

"How's classes been?" She asked, brushing back Sherry's hair once she pulled away. "Haven't been working too hard, right?"

She smiled, rolling her eyes. "I dunno Claire I plan to finish my "college" courses unlike you." She teased.

"Hey, hey, hey. I'll go back… Eventually. As soon as TerraSave decides they'll pay for it that is." She said, wandering into Sherry's room and falling down onto her bed, white pillows, white sheets, just like everything else. Claire was the little spot of red amongst it all. "Once I'm there a little longer they promised me they'd cover the cost… If I want. Maybe."

"You sure about that?" She asked, crawling onto the bed next to Claire. It was a normal routine for them. Sherry needed physical attention or else she'd be in a far worse place than this. It happened without a word. Sherry curled up next to Claire and rested her head on the woman's shoulder. "I bet TerraSave only covers real schools."

"Technical school is real school! It's just not exactly relevant school. See the difference?"

"Yeah. TerraSave probably doesn't have need for on-site mechanics. Do you guys even have company vehicles?"

"As a matter of fact we do. And… Usually if something is wrong with one of them they flag me down if they can't find anyone else. Saves money."

"Doesn't bother you?"

"It means I get to wear jeans to work."

"That's fair. I… think."

"Hey, not like I've had a lot of "real jobs" in my life. Makes them like me. And if they like me, they'll keep me around. Bit of worldly advice for you." She said, knowing full well Sherry didn't actually have a choice about where she worked. They'd talked about it before. Sherry was stuck, more so than anyone else.

"What if I want other people to like me instead?" Sherry asked, peering up at Claire. "You know… Not work… people."

Claire shrugged, pulling her arm around Sherry's back. "Common interests. Being nice. Why? Looking to make more friends?"

Sherry shook her head, backing out of the subject entirely. It just slipped out. It was at least, in its current form, meaningless. What if she messed up? Scared Claire off because she had gotten so messed up. She never acted like anything was wrong, but in her head there was something she was after. She wasn't ready to test how much Claire liked her.

"I guess." She said, trying to change the subject. "Maybe you should teach Leon how to make more friends. He was talking about Ada the other day. Still."

Claire half laughed, drumming her fingers lightly on the girl's back. "Well… you know how it is." She said absently, closing her eyes. "It's easy to get attached to people when you're in situations like that."

"That why we're such good friends?"

"Mhm."

Sherry cringed internally at herself. The part of her that wanted to talk could have strangled her in that moment. "Friends". Claire meant so much more to her than just a "friend". A real connection to the outside world. A person to look up to. Someone who could really explain what it meant to even be a "person". Claire was all of that and so much more. Some days, she was a mess, but in Sherry's eyes she was the perfect mess for her.

She could only lay there in silence, listening to Claire's breathing. Listening to her relax into the bed, into Sherry herself. She was so at ease with everything while she was here. It could be the perfect time to ask, especially because the auburn haired woman was nearly asleep. Probably a long day at work, over socialized, brain overworked, drowned in paper work. It was all possible.

Sherry had two modes. Too extroverted and too introverted and right now they were battling it out, ready to ruin the moment.

"Can I kiss you?"