First long story and all. Lots of genres touched and lots of references to my favourite stuff. If you don't know, just ask: I'll be more than willing to answer.

Just bare with me with this story xD

I sincerely hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it!

"Gah! This.. this stupid photocopier!" yelled Claire, not thinking that she was at work and not at some store. Everyone stared at her. But she didn't care where she was; when she got frustrated, everyone knew.

"Need help?" asked a man who had walked over towards her.

"No!" she snapped, "Especially not by you!"

"Come on, Claire. How come you hate me so much? No one can resist my charming face."

I know... she thought.

"Is that prick bugging you, Claire?" asked a young woman whom Claire knew, "Cause I can-"

"No, Kat," interrupted Claire, "I'm fine. But this stupid photocopier won't be once I get done with it!" she muttered, glaring at her enemy.

"Whoa, Claire! Easy now. I guess even geniuses even get frustrated." her friend said. Turing her attention towards the dark-haired man who was just standing there, smirking for some dumb reason, Kat began, "Jason, why do you always have to be a pain? Hmm? Shoo, and leave Claire alone!"

"I'm only trying to help a damsel in distress. Besides, she enjoys my company." he said, glancing towards Claire.

"Go Jason before I do something that I will regret. I'm quite capable of helping my best friend out!"

"Alright, alright Kat. I'm going. Though it seems like you'll have to go to the storage room and get another part." he said quickly then dashed off.

"I'll be-" but before Kat could continue she noticed that he wasn't there anymore. She shrugged her shoulders and returned her attention towards Claire, "Now Claire, let's see what the problem is."

"I already know the problem; this dumb photocopier hates me!"

Fumbling around with the photocopier, Kat spotted the problem. "Much as I hate to say this, but Jason is right. The photocopier does need a new part. I'll go get one real quick. Wait right here"

"No, Kat that's alright. Just tell me what part I need and I'll go get it myself."

"Alright suit yourself."

With the name of the part, Claire ventured off to the storage room. Normally, she would have figured it out on her own, that's the whole point of being a genius. Well, technically Claire wasn't a genius genius per say. But she had a fair amount of knowledge in science and technology. The blonde girl certainly loved those fields! Unfortunately, she got stuck with just your average boring office job, doing the same thing pretty well over and over and over again day after day... not stuck per say; more like she had accepted the job willingly but soon regretted it... a bit.

Claire stepped inside the dark storage room. She then started to search for that part to that evil photocopier. But to her surprise, she first found something else instead.

A warmth wrapped itself around her waist, pulling her closer. Light kisses went down the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. Then an all too familiar voice spoke. "I thought you would come in here."

Turning herself around, Claire caught sight of the person. She cupped the person's face and pressed her lips on his. A surge went though her body, making her heart flutter. Something inside of her yearned for more, but quickly subsided as more pressure pressed on her lips. But there was always something inside of her that made her feel... not complete for lack of a better term. She never really noticed this before and certainly didn't notice as the kiss became more passionate.

"Jason." gasped Claire as she broke away from the lip lock, "What are you doing in here? You know we agreed to maintain our reputation around here back when we started to date. I don't have time for this. I need the part to that evil photocopier. People will suspect if I'm in here for long."

"Hey! I wasn't done! And as I recall, you were the one who started kissing me, not me you. I just merely wrapped my arms around your waist... and kissed you back."

"That's not the point!" Claire lightly stomped her foot, childishly.

"Besides, people won't suspect anything. If anything, they will figure that you had a hard time looking for the part. You did make sure everybody knew that you were frustrated."

"Or they might think that I fainted or, or something like that. My point is the work place—NOT a good place to make out. Though tonight is a different story." she grinned at that last part.

"But... okay, okay. Till tonight then."

He pecked her lips and walked out of the storage room, making sure nobody noticed him.

"How did I ever fall for him." she mumbled.

She quickly found the appropriate part much to her surprise and then walked out of the storage room nonchalantly. She wasn't sure what later that day would bring, but boy! she couldn't wait for night to hit. Something told her that that night would be a night she wouldn't forget.

Returning to Kat, Claire placed the part in her friend's hand. Kat took the old part out and replaced it with the new one, satisfied with her work. She then told Claire to "start er up!" and grinned happily as the photocopier went back to normal.

"Thanks Kat! Your the best!" said Claire, blowing her bangs from her face.

"No problem, gurl! What are best friends for?" Kat chuckled, lightly poking her best friend's side. "Let me know if you need help in anything else instead of making a scene, attracting unwanted attention, if you know who I'm talking about."

"Alright, alright Kat. I have to return to my desk now. Lunch today, right?"

"Yup! We're still on! See you then!" Kat chirped

Claire continued on with the day, doing monotonous tasks. She really wasn't a whole fan of her job. Why didn't she switched to a career she liked? She didn't have the answer to that. Maybe it was because her best friend worked there, or maybe she just was pure stubborn. She had been known to be stubborn at times. But usually it was quite rare.

Lunch time came, relieving Claire and Kat from their work. They grabbed their bags and walked over to their favorite bistro located at the corner of the nearest street. Since it was a lovely sunny day, they decided to have their lunch outside where the red checkered covered tables resided. Enjoying a hearty meal, they talked about anything from fashion to boys to even politics. Lunch ended quite quickly though, much to their disappointment.

Claire enjoyed eating out with Kat. It was really the only times where she could vent and discuss stuff with her. Yes they were best friends, but their work schedules and life styles sort of prevented them from spending time with each other. But somehow, they always managed.

The rest of the day seemed like an eternity to Claire. When it finally came, she quickly grabbed her stuff, hugged Kat goodbye, and bolted out the door heading towards her condo. I need plenty of time to get ready tonight. she thought to herself, Ooo! I can't wait!

Once at her own place, she ripped open her closet and chose the outfit she thought appropriate for that night. She peeled off her work clothes and slipped on her dark denim pants which had a hint of sparkle. Next she put on her white spaghetti-strap undershirt then a red flannel shirt over top of it and tied the bottom of the flannel shirt. After buckling her belt on, she then bolted one of her favorite belt buckles. She looked herself in the mirror and liked what she saw. All I need is some boots and a hair-do that I like, and I'll be all set. Brushing her hair, she decided that she would tie her long blonde hair up in a simple pony tail. She never was into anything too too fancy. Once she found some brown boots, she placed them on and tucked her jeans inside of them. She then glanced over towards her clock and almost shrieked of what time it was. In that moment she sprinted out of her door with a small snack in hand and almost tripped a few times while on her way to the place where she was meeting her special friend.

She flung open the doors and immediately saw him at the bar like usual. He noticed her and waved towards him indicating for her to come over. The decorations all around were so to say western in taste. Everything looked old and gritty but at the same time it was modern and hip. Claire never saw anything like it really before. Not that she would though, since she lived in the city. Never would she had thought that something like it existed where she lived.

"Two beers please." he said to the bartender, "Hey baby." he pecked her on the lips, "What took you so long?"

"Oh you know. Same ol', same ol'." she smirked. Noticing the two beers that were just placed on the counter, she shook her head, "You know I don't drink, Jason"

"Who says that one of them were for you?"

"Since you, every time we go out, try to get me to drink."

"Aww, shucks! Well, never hurts to try you know..." he trailed off while drinking his beer.

Claire rolled her eyes. Why he would try to convince her to drink was beyond her comprehension. She just didn't want to. Though that wasn't completely true. Watching the effect that alcohol could bring influenced her reasons. She just didn't want to do anything dumb. She knew what power it held upon a person, and she certainly didn't want to test the waters. Her mind began to wonder off to when she was a child. Her parents, mainly her dad, drank—a lot, though not much when she was really, really young. She didn't know when her parents started to drink heavier and heavier; all she knew was that alcohol caused problems. And she certainly didn't want to risk on being like them.

"Hey Claiiire," waving his hand in front of her face, "you there?"

"Huh?" she said, snapping back to reality.

"I said do you want to dance? I know you like the whole square dancing thingy or whatever the style is called. Though it doesn't really look like square dancing per say. Really I don't know what it is, but do you want to join in the fun?"

"Sure why not."

"Thought you would." he said, sipping on the last of his beer.

Claire eyed him in shock. She couldn't believe that he downed two beers in that short amount of time. Though she didn't know how long exactly she spaced out. She shrugged her shoulders and took his outstretched hand, heading towards the dance floor. The music there was sort of a country/western feeling, appropriate for square dancing. But no square dancing was done. Instead, it was more of a free for all.

At some point, Claire broke out into some moves she hadn't in a long, long time, specifically with her feet. Jason was somewhat shocked but at the same time wasn't that surprised. But it was entertaining to him. It was also entertaining to others too since they had begun to step back and watch. Of course Claire didn't take notice; she just continued with what she was doing. It took a little while though for her to finally notice that she was the only one dancing, and that caused her to blush.

When the music stopped, everybody clapped their hands and cheered. Her boyfriend came up to her and grabbed her around her waist. The gap between their lips closed which caused her to wrap her arms around his neck. They soon parted. Grabbing her, he lead her back towards the bar. "Another two beers, please" Jason requested the bartender. When Claire was about to protest about the beers again, he moved her against the bar's counter with her back leaning against it. Then he started kissing her neck. It seemed like that intimate moment wouldn't end, but that was so wrong. "JASON!" a loud, extremely furious voice came from nowhere, "WHAT THE BLUE BLAZES ARE YOU DOING!"

Jason turned around to find a fuming women with smoke steaming out of her ears. He quickly blinked. "M-Maryb-belle?" he stuttered, "W-What are you doing here?"

"I asked you first! Gah! I had a feeling you were cheating on me but then brushed it aside for some dam reason; but now I know that I am right. Should have listened to my women intuition in the first place..." she trailed off, " So who is she?" Marybelle demanded.

"I would like to ask you the same thing Jason!" Claire spoke up, crossing her arms.

"A-a-a f-friend?" he answered both of them, fear painted in his eyes.

Wrong answer! Both Claire and Marybelle snatched the two new beers off the counter and poured them on his head. Disgusted at Jason, Marybelle turned to Claire and asked if she would like to leave with her. "Gladly!" Claire said, "Wait one moment." Claire did the one thing that Marybelle wouldn't do... or rather couldn't. She whirled around and punched Jason right in the jaw. "Now we can go." Claire said, satisfied with her deed.

Together, they walked out of the place which contained their ex-boyfriend. Walking on the sidewalk, Marybelle finally spoke, "Was it really necessary to punch him? Like yeah, he's a two-timer and all, but don't you think that that was a bit rough?"

"He deserved it! And much more than that!" Claire said, "I was easy on him. Though my hand seems to disagree on that." she chuckled.

"I suppose..." Marybelle trailed off, "Men! Who needs them!"

"I'm with ya on that!"

They both laughed together. Claire said her goodbye to her new acquaintance and headed towards home. She knew darn well that Jason was bad news; yet she was somehow blinded. And she didn't know why. Yet it wasn't the first time she experienced this. Many had broken her heart before; though this time, she didn't really feel as bad as she had in the past. Maybe she knew all along that he was no good. That was when denial came. Denial brought her hope in some weird way and made her see the potential good that he could have been. Denial—that was her blindness... or so she concluded. Right then and there she decided that she wasn't going to bother with men anymore. Too complicated, she thought, And... hurtful.

Finally at the comfort of her home, Claire laid herself on her bed and puffed her bangs away from her face. Staring into her ceiling, she decided to call the one person that she knew would understand. But there was a problem: Kat never knew that Claire and Jason were dating. Would Kat understand? Or would she brush her best friend off? Clair was about to find out.

Dialing Kat's number, Claire wondered how she would tell her of the whole incident. The best course of action that she concluded was to just be blunt with Kat—tell her straight off. Claire then heard Kat's voice on the phone and started to get a bit teary eyed. Her friend asked her what was wrong. Claire immediately spilled out everything. From the time when her and Jason started to date to the break-up that happened that night. Claire sensed that Kat was in utter shock from it all and was afraid that she would lose her best friend. Kat assured her that that nothing would stop them from being best friends, but she also rebuked Claire for not telling her. "I know I should have told you, Kat. I-I just didn't know what came over me!" whimpered Claire.

"Claire, Claire. Calm down." Kat softly said, "What's done is done; can't go back on the past. I know that you are upset a bit and this may sound a bit harsh but I wouldn't worry or get worked up about it. He is not worth it! At all! If he was, then he would.. wouldn't be Jason; he would be someone else. Now dear, please, promise me that you stop being sad because of this guy?"

"Mmkay..."

"There. It's getting late. So I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright, see you tomorrow Kat. Night!"

"Night!"

Claire hanged up the phone, feeling a bit better. She just hoped that the next day would be brighter and happier for her.

The next morning brought another day to begin. Claire reluctantly got up at the sound of her alarm. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Another day of work... she looked at her digital clock and realized that it wasn't a work day. "Today is Saturday? Today is Saturday! Yeehaw!" she shouted but quickly covered her mouth remembering that she had neighbors. I must have forgotten to shut off my alarm last night. Hmm.. that means... "Extra sleep for me!" With that she dozed back to sleep.

A knock jolted her awake after a few more hours of sleep. I'm not expecting anyone... I think.. oh! Claire threw the covers off of her and ran towards the door. Opening it, she found none other than Kat. Kat snickered at her as she walked inside. "You forgot didn't you Claire."

"Well, no... maybe?" Claire replied, " I just wanted to get more sleep and well, you know how that goes..."

"You end up sleeping in late, later than you expect that is." Kat finished.

"Yeah sort of." smiled Claire.

"Well that's fine. I'll make something big for the two of us, since you haven't eaten in a while. If it's okay that I use your kitchen that is."

"Of course it is! You should know that by now. I'll be back in a bit; I have to go downstairs and get the paper from the front desk." Claire said, while grabbing her robe.

"Right-o! But you're going down like that?" Kat said pointing to the robed Claire.

"Yeah why not? They are sort of used to me like this, especially on Saturdays." Claire answered while opening her door.

Kat shrugged her shoulders which gave the cue for Claire to leave.

At the front desk, sat an older gentleman around 50 or so... or so Claire had concluded. Claire waved at the grey-haired man. The wrinkles on his face gave her a huge smile. She always was happy every time she had to see him; his happiness was very contagious; never was she sad around him. That's probably why she thought of him as a perfect Santa though she did know that Santa didn't exist, but he certainly had the looks of him excluding the beard.

It was a rather small lobby, but that wasn't a surprise considering that the building itself was fairly small. Yet, despite the size, it still held on to the fact that it was a very high-end building. Two seating areas could be seen on either side of the main doors along with two potted plants. Both seating areas had been arranged in sort of a L shape with the L facing the entrance. Coffee tables stood in front of those L's. In the middle of each coffee table stood potted flowers, giving a homey feeling.

"Hello, Mr. Stanley! How are you today?" Claire chirped.

"Why hello Claire! I'm very good today, and it looks like that you are too!"

"Yeah, somewhat. Anyway, I'm here for the paper and any other mail."

"Oh yes. Well there's no mail today but there's the paper right here." he smiled as he gave her the paper.

"Thank you Mr. Stanley."

"No problem at all. Oh by the way. Before you go, I should tell you that it seems like that paper—or I should say that particular paper was meant for you. Usually Fred comes in and, you know, delivers the paper, but a rather different man came instead. He said that Fred was sick and gave me the papers, but he specifically said that that paper that I just handed to you was for you. Well he didn't know your name, but he knew your room number. Just thought I should let you know. I found it particularly strange, but it could be nothing. Didn't catch the fellow's name though."

"Huh... That certainly is quite strange. I'm sure it's nothing. Probably some guy who wanted me to notice him and go looking for him." Claire rolled her eyes, "I'll never understand men."

"Don't lose too much faith in the males. It only just takes one right one for a young woman like you."

"Thanks Mr. Stanley. But I think I'm done with men."

"One day you'll change your mind; it may be far off or may not but I believe one day. Anyways, have a nice day Claire!"

"You too Mr. Stanley, you too."

Claire waved goodbye and headed back up. Thinking of what Mr. Stanley had said to her, Claire wondered if there truly was a Mr. Right out there for her. But she quickly dismissed that idea since she had resolved that she wouldn't date anymore.

Arriving at her door, Claire smelt the savory goodness of bacon and eggs and even a hint of muffins. It didn't take long for her to figure out what kind of muffins once she opened the door. To the left, Claire saw Kat motioning her to come over to the kitchen. Once they both grabbed their plates of food, they headed towards the table located opposite to the kitchen. Newspaper in hand Claire started to eat the banana flavored muffins while talking or rather listening to Kat. Then out of nowhere an ad caught Claire's attention. The ad was for a farm located in a small town. A farm for sale, eh? Huh.. should I? I mean yeah I don't like my job and all and my life pretty well is boring except for Kat... I certainly wouldn't miss the city if I did. A city with perverts and criminals—honestly not one day goes by where I don't hear of a crime. But what about Kat? I-

"Claire!"

"Huh? What? What happened?" the blonde panicked.

"You weren't paying attention were you."

"Yeah I was! You were talking about... then you said... okay no I wasn't so shoot me."

The dark-haired woman chuckled, "Oh Claire. What am I going to do with you?" She paused. "What was going on in your little blonde head of yours anyways? Hmm?"

"Uh, well... Umm... here."Claire handed the paper over to her. Pointing at the ad she saw, "Read that."

"Okay, uh.." Kat clears her throat, "Want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city? Or do you just want a peaceful place to live? A farm is what you need then! Enjoy the peaceful surroundings while caring for crops and animals. Call 874-655-2489 for more details. And this means... no wait. You aren't considering this are you Claire?"

"I think you know me well enough to figure that one out."

"But what about our get-togethers? And lunch-outs? We barely get to spend time together as it is!"

"We could always catch up via video chat. I can set it for you, if you haven't already."

"But Claiiiire!" whined Kat, "It's just... well, it wouldn't be the same! Please reconsider this..."

"I haven't said yes, but I also haven't said no either. But it looks like more of a yes."

"Is it because of what happened last night? I told you not to-"

"Nothing has to do with that." Claire interrupted, "For the longest time I've been slowly getting weary of city life; the hustle and bustle of everything, people pushing and being rude. I just can't handle it anymore. I thought I could though, but lately I've been finding it a bit harder each day. Actually, to be quite honest, the city wasn't really my thing to begin with. I merely tried it out; I thought maybe I would enjoy it—and I tried to, but it isn't me. Kat, if I do decide to buy it which most likely I will, please be supportive of my decision. Your my best friend and all and... I just hope you can understand."

Kat paused for a few moments causing Claire to fidget. Her heart began to race faster than a freight train if that was even possible. Claire wasn't sure what was running through Kat's head. Not knowing what Kat thought about what she had just said made her hands feel a bit clammy. "K-Kat? Please say s-something." Claire mumbled.

"I... I don't know if I have words to say..." Kat barely made out, "I... I didn't know that that's how you really felt..."

"Kat-"

"No Claire, let me finish. Had I known that city life wasn't your cup of tea, I would have never encouraged you—well nudge you towards that way—to get a job where I work at. Yeah, I agree; that job can be quite.. what's the word... annoying? But at least it pays the bills." pausing for a moment she continued, "We're best friends, Claire. Did you really think I would have thought of you any differently had I known?"

"I... I don't know... I guess communications isn't my strong point is it." Claire joked.

"Claire. If you want to purchase that farm, then I say go for it! Just be sure that we stay in contact, alright? And tell me the latest gossip too!" her friend struggled to sound sincere but at the same time understood.

Claire laughed, "Alright Kat. I'll be sure to keep you in the loop. And... thank you."

"Claire, don't worry about it at all. I just want you to be happy. I've always suspected something was going on with you; I just didn't know what it was exactly till now." Kat gave a faint smile.

After that conversation she had with Kat, Claire felt a lot better. I can be so stupid at times. I should have known. Claire thought. She began to space out thinking about her future and such until Kat came and shoved the phone right in front of her face. "Call now." Kat commanded, "I know if you don't you'll forget and that ad would be on your fridge for at least two weeks."

Claire meekly obeyed.

The phone began to ring on the other side. Shortly afterward, Claire heard a man's voice. "Hello! This is The Mayor speaking. How may I help you?"

"I..." clearing her throat so that she could speak clearer, "I would like to buy that farm, if it's still available."

Good? Bad? Anything to improve on? Let me know!
But don't be too too harsh on me: I'm a beginner :P
But any pointers will be much appreciated! :)

Thanks for reading! Feedback is most welcomed!