New Life

Summary: ClaireWest fic that takes place during season 2. They seek out the truth about the company and meet the other heroes in the process.

Chapter One - Normal

"BUUUZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!"

Claire groaned and smacked her alarm clock off from under the covers. She felt a familiar knot quickly form in her stomach as she realized it was Monday morning and she had school. That meant assignments, teachers, cheerleaders, social awkwardness, and the ever looming fear of exposure. She snuggled into her pillow, wishing she could sleep through the day.

Then she smiled and her eyes popped open.

West.

Ever since she learned the truth about him she felt less alone, less like a freak. He made her feel like she was normal, but special, it was a wonderful belonging feeling she hadn't experienced since she left her other life in Odessa as a Cheerleader when she had friends like Zach.

She hadn't stopped thinking about West all weekend. This was the first time in her life she could remember actually waiting for the weekend to end so she could go to school Monday. He was an excellent distraction from her thoughts about her uncle, Peter, who had been missing since he and Nathan saved New York from that bomb. He was missing and not dead because he can't be dead, Claire knew he absorbed her regeneration ability and could not be killed so she refused to let him go.

Lately with all of the saving the world stuff, Claire had become a strong believer in destiny. Everything that happens must happen for a reason. At first she was miserable having to go to a new school, hiding herself from everyone, not letting anyone get close enough to know her, to be a friend. Until she met West, and he found out about her on his own, on accident, and then she found out about him, that he could fly. He liked her and they were the same and now they had each other. Only destiny could have led them to each other.

Claire bounded down the stairs after putting her hair down in loose messy curls and deciding on a white skirt and baby blue tank top with sandals to match. Her dad was sitting their in his work uniform eating toast and having coffee over the paper. Her mother was bringing a fruit salad to the table and Lyle was no where in sight, probably still getting dressed, which would make them late again a usual.

After a quick breakfast with her family, Claire, Lyle and her father climbed in his car and headed towards her school. The drive was quiet until they dropped her little brother off at his middle school. Claire kept her mouth shut hoping to avoid small talk that would inevitably lead to her father's routine questionnaire about her personal life.

"So how's school been?"

"Fine dad." Claire put on a fake smile to match her fake response like she did every time her dad asked her about school.

"I know it's hard trying to not stand out, not get involved, or get close to anyone but you have to understand it would be putting your life at risk if it were any other way." He raised an eyebrow and stared at his daughter from the corner of his eye beneath his horned rimmed glasses, attempting to read her expression.

Claire continued her façade, "Dad, I know. It's the way it has to be." Claire clenched her jaw and tried hard not to roll her eyes, if it were up to her father she would be locked in the basement safe from all the people, she thought.

When they reached Costa Verde High School, Claire immediately started scanning the crown of students for West. She bid her father brisk goodbye and tried to open the car door but it stayed locked. She turned to her father, he was staring at her intently.

"Looking for someone?" He asked casually, but continued studying her expression. Claire hoped she hid her shock well enough.

"No dad. Who would I be looking for?" She ended with a smile to cover her anxiety. Did he suspect something? Does he know about West?

Her father shrugged. "Well I'm going to be working late tonight again so I won't be able to pick you up, so give your mother a call went you get out I don't want you walking home."

"Sure."

He smiled and leaned over planting a kiss on Claire's cheek and unlocked the doors. "Love you Clairebear."

"Love you too dad." She grabbed her side bag carrying her books and jumped out of the car before her dad had a chance to grill her any longer. He was acting stranger than normal.

She looked back to make sure her father wasn't spying on her from across the street, which wouldn't surprise her, and saw him drive off. She couldn't help feel bad for him, going to a job he hates everyday, and he did it for her, to keep her safe, and what did she do to repay him? Lie and sneak around behind his back. West knows her secret and her father has no idea, he doesn't even think she has a friend to her name. Deceiving her father felt wrong, but its not like he tells her everything, he might have done horrible things while working at that company that he'd never tell her about. Horrible things to West. She thought back to what West told her on the beach, about being taken and getting that scar on his neck and only remembering the man with the horned rimmed glasses. But it couldn't be her father, he would never do something like that. He wouldn't hurt West, just because of his abilities. He wouldn't do the very thing to West that he was protecting Claire from. It didn't make any sense but it scared her all the same. She couldn't ever let the two of them meet. She didn't want a repeat of what her father did to Zach, erasing his memories of her and who knows what else.

She looked around at the groups of students for a sign of him. She wondered how West handled his own secret at school, with friends, with his parents. Did they know he could fly? Did anyone? He certainly wasn't as paranoid about detection as her father, he openly uses his ability… She thought back to the moment at school when he picked her up and flew them off campus, without any hesitation or thought to who could've been watching. She wished she had that courage, but at the same time she wished West would be more cautious, didn't he realize the dangers they'd face if they were exposed? Sometimes it seemed like he didn't care at all, for instance pulling that flying stunt was too dangerous despite the fact that it did earn her a place on the cheerleading squad, which she deserved anyways!

Claire entered the doors to her high school and headed towards her locker past the chattering students in the halls. She reached her locker and entered her combination. She swapped out books she had in her bag with books she needed from her locker, when one tumbled to the floor beside her. She finished putting away the ones in her arms before bending down to retrieve the fallen book, but it was gone.

She spun around and saw a pair of black basketball shoes, she looked up at a tall, thick, redheaded jock (she figured). He stood just a few feet away studying a familiar looking book in his hands. "Activating Evolution? This isn't required reading is it?" He smirked.

When she realized what book he had she immediately reached for it but he held it away from her. He started to read the back cover out load, "Activating Evolution details Dr. Suresh's theories regarding the emergence of humans with extraordinary new genetic abilities…" He gave her an odd look, smirking.

Claire looked around expecting to see every student in the hall staring at them, but no one seemed to pay them any mind.

He continued, "...and includes references to several of the abilities which Suresh predicted individuals would evolve to possess, including rapid tissue regeneration, teleportation, telepathy, and levitation." The redheaded boy raised an eyebrow at her.

"Give that back!" She growled and reached for it once more, missing. The boy just smiled when she moved closer to him, he looked her up and down pausing in all the wrong places. Claire felt heat rising in her cheeks. When someone called her name she looked and found West at her side. Oh no, now he'll see how careless she was with his book, letting it stray into the hands of this jerk. He immediately saw the distress in her face, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey." West smiled at her in a comforting sort of way that made her feel at ease then looked to the other boy, his eyes falling on the book in his hands.

"What are you doing with that?" West said, quickly grabbing the book out of the boy's hands.

"Mind your own business, besides it was on the floor." The boy scoffed, giving West the stink eye.

"It fell when I was putting books in my locker." Claire said in her own defense to West, and hoped he wouldn't be angry. She didn't want him to think she was careless with his things, or careless with his secret.

"It's okay. Claire this is Ron. Ron, Claire. But it seems you've already met."

"Hardly." Claire mumbled, closing her locker and picking her bag up off the floor.

"Well Claire and I have to go work on this Bio assignment so see ya." West tugged on her arm and guided her away from a puzzled looking Ron.

"Which Bio assignment would that be?" Claire asked slightly worried, she hadn't done any biology homework because she hadn't thought they had any assigned. This is just what she needed, for the teacher to call her out in front of everyone for not turning in homework, way to blend in Claire.

"There isn't one. I just wanted to get you away from Ron. He tends to prey on pretty new girls."

Claire smiled at the compliment, "Really? Is he dangerous?" She played along.

"Very. But don't worry I'll keep you safe." He said and slipped his hand into Claire's. She couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"So have you finished Suresh's book yet or have you just been using it as a step to reach your locker?" He asked.

"Hey!" Claire swatted his stomach playfully. "I'm not that short, I can reach lockers." Her smile faded, "And I'm really sorry about dropping it like that, anyone could have picked it up and-"

"Hey it's okay, no worries. It's just a book." West intertwined his fingers in hers, then looked at her with his big brown eyes. "So I was wondering…"

"You were wondering…" Claire smiled at him and squeezed his hand. This made the butterflies in his stomach worse.

"…if you wanted to hang out after school. Maybe go grab a bite to eat…" He lowered his voice to a whisper, "take a quick fly 'round town?" He looked at her hopefully, as if she would say no.

"I'd love too." Her grin grew wider and West couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was, just when her expression fell.

"But I can't, I told you I'm not allowed to date, my dad is so-" She remembered what he told her in the car that morning, that he would be working late tonight and wouldn't be there to pick her up. "- is so not going to be around later so scratch that, I can."

"Great, I'll meet you outside your last class, what is that calculus?"

"Yes." Claire gave him a strange look. "How do you know my class schedule?"

"So I followed you for a little while before we actually met." He tried to make it sound less creepy than it was.

"I don't know if I should be flattered or freaked out." Claire smirked, watching him squirm.

West grimaced, "I'm not a stalker." He said quickly.

"No, you're my stalker." Claire teased, but West looked so embarrassed she started to feel bad. West shuffled his feet and played with the hanging straps from his backpack.

"I just, I don't know why but I was drawn to you. I knew you were different, and… I felt like… like we sort of belonged together. It was a little weird." He looked up bashfully, gauging her reaction hoping she wouldn't turn and run away. She watched him intently, hanging on his every word. "And then after I saw what you could do that night, I knew. I knew you were special like me, and I knew we were destined to meet. It's just this feeling. Kinda strange really…." Claire looked a little stunned. "Do you-? You probably don't-"

"I do." She cut him off, snapping out of her daze. "I felt it too. But I never thought I'd find someone else like me here. I felt so alone here. But then you found me and it all changed." Claire had to stop herself, she was getting way too mushy.

West smiled down at Claire then leaned forward, catching her lips with his. Claire kissed him back, running her hands up his shoulders, then pulled away. Public Displays of affection don't exactly help her 'lay low', she looked around to see that no one was watching.

"Something wrong?" West looked worried.

"No it's just… If a teacher saw us, they could call my parents. And my dad would freak, he'd probably make my family pack up and move to a different state. And I've just started to get use to this place." Claire finished and smiled at West, upon seeing him relax. Claire couldn't tell him what her father really might do. She hadn't told West why they moved because that might lead to explaining Zach and how her father erased his memories.

West didn't understand Claire's dad or why he seemed to get inside Claire's head and frighten her out of living, making her keep to herself like a hermit, and hide everything about her. West hadn't met her father but everything Claire told him made West think her dad was strange. Why wouldn't he let her date? She was 16! And he didn't want her to join the cheerleading squad… That one made more sense than the dating thing. West also wondered why he packed up his family and moved them here, Claire wasn't very clear about that, all she said was it was because of a job, but he works at a Kinko's or something, it didn't add up.

"I don't want you to have to worry about keeping another secret, I know how hard it can be, I'll understand if you don't want to risk it." He words laced with disappointment.

"No, really West, I'm looking forward to our date." Claire was shocked he could think that,"Some secrets are worth the risk."

A cocky grin spread across West's face.

"What?" She eyed him curiously.

"So it is a date." He raised an eyebrow.

Claire rolled her eyes and walked off towards her next class.

A/N: Second chapter is in the works. Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated, so are ideas! Thnx.