Hi, so I know the summary wasn't very good, but I'm glad you decided to read it anyway! Not much happens in this chapter as it's just the beginning, but there will be soon!

Claire hummed to herself as she worked, not in Myrnin's lab, but behind Oliver's counter. She herself was surprised to be there. But the fact was that she was short on money and needed the extra to come from somewhere, and the only available place had been Oliver's coffee shop. She had been so nervous in his interview and relieved and surprised when he had given her the position. That had been 3 months ago and she was still there. Her financial problems were solved, but she liked working there. Eve had moved onto the TPU campus coffee bar, which had made Claire a little sad, but honestly, she enjoyed working behind the counter. She still preferred being in the lab, but the coffee bar wasn't a bad alternative.

"Claire, a call for you" Claire turned towards Oliver with a small smile, polite, nothing else. "I'll just be a sec" she replied and thumped the drink in front of the man who had ordered it. "Please remind your housemates that this is a business, and as such they are not welcome to place calls whenever they feel like it" Oliver's cool tone made her shiver, but not with fear. She nodded and stepped past him, trying to ignore the heightened colour in her cheeks and walked down the hallway towards the little phone that was installed on the wall next to his office. "Hello?" she asked, not knowing who it was. "Claire! Where have you been?" "Huh?" the voice was Eve's, but why was she asking where she was? Her shift didn't end until- oh. She'd managed to work half an hour extra. "You do know that Oliver doesn't pay you extra for working hours outside your shift?" A small smile played over Claire's lips as she replied "Yeah, I know. Sorry, I guess I… lost track of time again" She heard Eve's exasperated sigh through the line. "Claire-Bear, I worked there for almost 2 years and I never lost track of time. Hell, I'm dumber than you and you still manage to lose track of time?" Claire rolled her eyes at her friend's exaggerations and promised to be home soon. She hung up on Eve's threats to come and collect her if she didn't, and turned to hang her apron up, almost bumping into a chest. She looked up and blinked at Oliver. "You could have told me that I've been working for half an hour past the end of my shift, you know" she said accusatorily. His eyebrows went up ever so slightly and he replied "When I want to lose free workers, I'll tell them that. Until then, they are kept in the dark" Now his eyebrows dipped down slightly "It's not my fault if you can't follow the progress of a clock" she opened her mouth and leaned forward, about to say something else, but another worker walked past them on the way to the bathroom. Claire took a small step back, suddenly aware of the little amount of space between herself and Oliver. "I really need to get home" she muttered, changing what she had been about to say when they had been alone. She wasn't totally sure who she was talking to, Oliver, or herself.

Walking into the Glass house, Claire was surrounded by the comforting atmosphere that was made up of the smell of chilli, the sound of laughter, and a little bit that was just… the house. She smiled and dumped her bag onto the table next to the door. As she walked into the dining room she saw Shane and Eve battling it out over the board of monopoly while Michael played softly on his guitar. "Yesss" Eve crowed as Shane landed on her hotel. "That'll be 500 pounds for me thank you very much" She caught sight of Claire smiling at them and leaped to her feet "CB! Finally the last houseguest returns!" Claire waved her away and turned into the kitchen to grab herself a bowl of the chilli she could smell. As she was ladling it into the bowl, a pair of warm arms wrapped around her waist and she breathed in the smell of Shane. She smiled slightly and turned around to face him. "If you don't move, you're going to have chilli all down your top" she said with a smile. He kissed her briefly and she had to lean on her toes to reach him. A stab of guilt knifed through her as they kissed but she pushed it away. "Come on, I'm hungry" she slid out of his grasp and joined the others in the sitting room. She never saw the frown that Shane had on his face as he looked at her leaving.

So what did you think? Review !