Author's Note: This is completely AU. In this fic, Claire and Elle are the same age. Some of this content is from real-life experiences. Just a little of it, though. I might mark where the real-life stuff comes in. But then again, I might not ;)
Title: Slow Dying Flower
Summary: After a car accident, Elle Bishop's mother and twin sister are dead. Living with her father in an apartment in Costa Verde, California, Elle must adapt to her new life. Diagnosed as a sociopath, she should not be as affected over her mother and sister's deaths as she is. She attends school with Claire Bennet, and after learning about Claire's abilities, an inevitable chain of events follows. The two soon find themselves on the run. And in the end, Elle is just happy to find someone as messed up as she is.
Rating: T for now
Pairing: Well, it is just friendship, but if it comes in high demand from you guys, then I might have Elle and Claire end up together. I know that some people really like that pairing (and I am fine with it)
Point of View: It will be Elle's Point of View unless stated otherwise
"Elle, try not to do anything that will get you in trouble. Also, um, I want you to try out for cheerleading…" my father told me carefully.
"I'd rather not, but I will if it makes you happy," I replied with one of my sweetest tones before hanging up the phone. I pulled into a vacant parking spot and took the key out of the ignition with an irritated sigh. After grabbing my bag from the passenger seat and placing the strap over my shoulder, I locked the doors and began my walk towards the front doors of the school.
A few boys whistled at me, though all I did in reply was roll my eyes at them. I didn't care enough to do anymore; though afterward I realized that a nice shock would have been good—if it did not make my father disappointed, of course. With yet another sigh, I pushed through the front doors and made my way down the hallway and to the main office. The lady behind the desk greeted me with a smile, and it took most of what I had to force a smile back at her.
"I'm Elle Bishop. I'm new," I said to her.
"Oh, right, Elle. We'll have someone come to give you a tour of the school soon," the woman assured me. Just then, a girl with blonde hair and green eyes strolled into the office. She was wearing a cheerleading outfit with the word "Captain" written in cursive just below the shoulder. The woman grunted as if annoyed once she saw the cheerleader. "Can I help you, Miss Bennet?"
"Coach Parks sent me to ask if the new uniforms came in yet," the girl said, smiling sweetly at the woman.
"The answer is the same as it was thirty minutes ago, Claire," came the irritated reply. The girl—Claire—raised her hands in surrender.
"Coach is the one asking, not me," she replied defensively.
Just as Claire turned to walk out of the office, the woman called her. "Since you are already here, you can give Miss Bishop a tour of the school," she said to Claire.
"Thanks for the offer, but we're having a cheerleading meeting in the Gym," Claire told her.
"Miss Bennet, I have let you get away with some things that you should have gotten detention for. There is a chance that they might resurface and you could be suspended."
I smirked at the woman's threat. Claire just sighed and gestured for me to follow her. We walked down the hallway, down two flights of stairs, and stopped at the entrance of the Gym. Despite what she had told the woman, the Gym was completely empty. Claire strode over to the bleachers and sat at the bottom one before pulling out her phone from her pocket.
"So, this is the Gym. You can take eleven minutes staring at it," Claire said.
"Why eleven minutes?"
"Because classes start in twelve minutes. Not to make you feel bad, but I'm using you as an excuse to miss my first class. If anyone asks, we'll just tell them that we only had time to see the office and the Gym, and that I still need to show you the rest of the school. I hope you don't mind. Oh, I'm Claire by the way."
"It's fine. I'm always being used," I said quietly, thinking of my father. Claire looked up at me; an expression of sympathy crossed her face. "I'm Elle,"
I spent the eleven minutes sitting as far away from Claire as possible—well, I tried to. Apparently, it would have been rude for her to ignore me, so she had gotten up after about two minutes and sat back down next to me. We engaged in meaningless conversation that I had hoped I would avoid. I told her that my last school was horrible, which was a lie because the only schooling I had received was by my father and a few hired tutors who usually ended up quitting because I thought it was fun to electrocute them.
After the eleven agonizing minutes were over, we both walked out of the Gym and into a large sea of high school students. I lost Claire so many times that she eventually just grabbed my hand to make sure I did not stray behind again. When we stopped in front of a biology class—which was the classroom I had to go to for the last period of the day—I noticed that she still had a firm grip on my hand.
"Um, do you mind…?" I asked, glancing down at our hands. She tilted her head, not getting the hint. I wriggled my hand out of her grasp.
"Oh, sorry," she said, looking down at her hand as if she did not even know when or how it had found mine. I rolled my eyes at her before looking at my schedule, wondering where we would be going next. "The cafeteria," she informed me when she caught me staring at the sheet of paper.
The halls emptied when the late bell rang, leaving only the two of us—as well as some strange-looking kid who was making his way towards the bathroom—alone. Our footsteps echoed off of the walls and I could just barely hear the distant chatter from the classrooms we passed. Once we came to the cafeteria, I wondered how much longer our little "tour" was going to take. I had classes to go to, and I already missed about fifteen minutes of my first one. It was my first day, after all.
"Plan on going to class yet?" I asked when Claire led me down another flight of stairs. She looked at me, her mouth slightly agape. I was sure she looked that way by how venomously I had spoken to her at the moment.
"Sorry. Just relax. I've never really met anyone who wanted to go to class," she replied, an apology laced in her voice.
"Well, I would rather sit in a boring classroom listening to a teacher drone on and on for an hour than socialize with you," I told her honestly. The girl proved boring and somewhat conceited when she was telling me about how she was the captain of the team because of how "great her skills were" and that their team was the best because she was leading it. She might have not known that she was talking highly of herself, but it didn't excuse it.
Of course, I was a bit conceited every once in a while, but I was allowed to be that way because I deserved. This girl was probably just another Barbie Doll who got away with everything because she was a cheerleader. I doubted she had ever felt pain before. As I thought more about it, sparks formed at my fingertips and I was more than happy to deliver the pain she never experienced. Just as she turned around, though, the sparks burned out at my will. I promised Daddy I was not going to get in trouble. And electrocuting a cheerleader was probably going to get me in trouble.
I remember what he had told me that morning, about how he wanted me to join the cheerleading team. With a feigned smile, I looked at Claire. "So," I started, "are there any spots open for the cheerleading team?"
"You're interested?" she asked as if it was not impossible.
"Uh, yeah. That's kind of why I just asked," I said.
"Well, one of the girls just moved away, so…if you're good, you can try out."
I hope you're happy, Daddy. Did you forget that I suck at things like cheerleading? I thought to myself. My smile faltered, but I forced it to stay on my face for a little while longer. "Well, um, I'm a quick learner…" I told her.
"Do you have any experience whatsoever?"
"No," I admitted, looking at her with a hopeful expression. She sighed.
"If you can come over after school, I could teach you a few things. It's not really up to the other girls whether or not you join, but I can't have them get mad at me for allowing you on the team if you are terrible. Coach Parks is out, so the decision is only up to me."
"I thought that Coach Parks sent you earlier today to check the status on the uniforms," I stated.
"I just like the piss Mrs. Barkely off."
This was going to be a long year—I could already tell.