For: Summer [POTTERDEX] who is absolutely weird and ships this more than I want her to, but that's not the issue.

I hope you like it...it was as happy as I could get for this pairing, um.

I don't own anything.

Claire/Shane

"Claire." she can tell by the tone of his voice that he's angry, hear it in the way that he finishes saying her name abruptly, in the over-exaggeration of the letter 'r', how he doesn't say anything else besides her name.

"What?" it comes out more aggressively than she had hoped for – just as she hopes it was the same for Shane, though she knows it wasn't – and all Claire can do afterwards is wince.

She's standing opposite Shane Collins, her boyfriend, in the living room of the Glass House, yet it's by no means their normal set up; normally, she would be sitting in his arms, watching a film, nattering about some stupid thing that neither of them care about, and finishing with an, "I love you." Tonight, they're at loggerheads (though she can't help but recognise how often the situation has ended like this, of late) and, in the tense atmosphere, on the edge of one of the bust-ups that threaten their relationship.

There's an awareness in Claire's mind as to what Shane wants to talk (shout) about, what he wants to accuse her of, and she's by no means mistaken when he starts to talk in riddles. "I know," is all he says, his dark eyes boring into her more chocolate-y coloured ones.

"You know what, Shane?" she can't help but erupt, sick of the same thing every single night! Whenever Eve and Michael are out, it's always like this – Shane accusing her of something she has never done, something she doubts she ever would do, unless he bloody carries on in this manner for the rest of their relationship.

"You know what I mean."

"No, actually, I don't," she shoots back, her tone acerbic. "For all I know, you could be telling me that you know that Father Joe has a secret daughter in Antarctica, who is being raised by seals! You could tell me that Amelie has found a way to let vampires live without being cooped up in this town, yet never relinquish her control over them. You could even be about to tell me that you know exactly what I think every single moment of the day, though that would be more than slightly creepy, yes?" she's vicious with her tongue as she starts to lash him with comments that she would normally keep held back.

But, tonight, she's had enough. She's fed up of taking the same old shit that Shane gives her, fed up of being accused of cheating on him with Myrnin, something that she would never do; her sweetly insane boss is just that: her boss. The boss who continues to be wildly in love with a woman whose brain he put in a machine. The boss who threatens to kill her, Claire, whenever she does something ridiculously stupid, that she, on reflection, ought not to have done; he's apparently her 'lover' because Shane can 'smell' him on Claire whenever she comes home, not accepting that they work together in a close proximity.

Shane's stunned into silence for a moment, his eyes focused on the wild, blazing girl before him: he's never seen her look like this, so beautiful and striking, even though he's trying his damndest to get her to confess. He would still love her, he thinks, if she had cheated; he'd just want permission to go and stake the bastard who had stolen her away from him.

They stand watching one another, waiting for the other to make a move; it's like a game of chess, when the one who has just played wants desperately to make the move that could win them the game…yet the opposition continues to have a move to play, one which could either destroy the plan, or aid it to the point where it basically allows the first mover to win by default.

Finally, Shane says something. "If you just confess that you've slept with him, then I won't be so mad. I won't hold it against you, I promise; it's all him, I know that. He's trying his damndest to destroy us, and I will never let that happen."

There's an assuredness in his tone that he's one hundred percent certain that she's guilty that stuns Claire; she's known he's always suspected, always been pretty sure, yet, in all their arguments, he's never sounded as sure as he does now.

It both pains her and makes her realise that she loves him more than anything, at the same time.

They're poison for one another: Claire and Shane, Shane and Claire. They're two opposing people, who ought to be with others more suited to how they feel, yet they're trapped in this relationship which has such a compelling force of love. They could be toxic, continually trying to destroy the other, just to get out of the relationship that binds them together – yet they're not, not really. Most of the time, they're perfect for one another, and the poisonous side to their apple slumbers. It's just times like these, when the other realises that their partner does have someone on the outside of this little, cosy life, someone who could make them so much happier, when things begin to kick off.

This love they share is compelling; it's addictive, almost like a drug, and if they had never met one another, they'd be more than happy with the other people: Livvi with Shane, Claire with Myrnin. But they do know one another; they've shared some of the most beautiful times together, saved one another from so many scenarios (and not all of them physical) that they're confident that they belong together.

She wants to hurt him: she wants him to crumble, for thinking that she's cheating on him when she would never do such a thing, and there's a passion behind her eyes that Shane spots suddenly. And, in this moment, he no longer wants to fight with her; he's remembered how absolutely stunning she is, how incandescent, how truly unbelievable they are together.

And he stops.

Her mouth is opening to form the words, "I did it; I cheated…and it was fucking great," but she doesn't manage to get them out. She doesn't get the chance to hurt the man who continually hurts her, whenever he accuses her of something she would never do, because his lips are on hers.

The addictive side to their nature is back, instantly quashing the poison that rises up every other moment, and it's as though they've never argued, because Claire and Shane are in-sync. They're in a harmonious, yet frenzied situation, something that is fuelled by anger and lust and everything that could have split them apart. Every bitter word is turned into passion, turned into something that has them going upstairs and slamming the bedroom door behind them. It's a situation that could have turned the other way, could have had them sitting sombrely on the sofa and discussing Claire's lie, yet has them more in tune with the other than ever before.

(Later on, they'll both tell the other that they're sorry, that they love the other more than anything. As that's what always happens with Claire and Shane; the intoxicating love wins over the poison that could destroy them within an instant.)

~x~

The next night, everything is the same again.

Though, this time, Claire's wondering if she should tell him the lie or not.

This time, she chooses that she will.

Don't favourite without reviewing, please and thanks.

Also, you're not getting more ClaireShane's out of me; this was for Summer only.

Vicky xx