A/N: This story was written after 2x01 "Four Months Later" and before 2x02 "Lizards." It contains information that is speculation and uninfluenced by spoilers. It is likely to become AU after "Lizards" airs. Any resemblance to future canon is purely coincidental.

"First and Only Date"

"Coffee?"

"Yes, coffee. It's a caffeinated beverage made from the seeds, often called 'beans', of the coffee plant. First discovered in Ethiopia. Often served hot or iced with some sort of whipped topping."

"I know what coffee is, West," Claire slammed the door of her locker and regarded the boy standing next to her with a weary eye, "What are you, a walking Wikipedia?"

"Just like a robot to reference the Internet," West retorted with a smug look on his face.

With a quick roll of her eyes, Claire turned away and began the walk to her next class, "You know, that whole 'robots vs. aliens' thing you've got going isn't nearly as cute as you think it is."

"Then when we go and drink our caffeinated beverages tonight, I promise not to mention anything remotely resembling robots or aliens." The smug look did not leave West's face as he quickened his pace to keep up with Claire. "Of course that means we won't be able to discuss Transformers, but there are plenty of other Michael Bay movies to talk about. What did you think of Pearl Harbor?"

Stopping in her tracks, Claire paused to look West up and down. "Just coffee?"

"Just coffee," West's face broke into a wide grin, "I have the noblest of intentions, I assure you. Pick you up at seven?"

"Okay. Try not to run me over this time."

"Then it's a date."

"So tell me something about yourself, Claire. I already see that you like your coffee in the iced and foamy category, but I'm looking for something a little deeper."

Claire smiled as she took a sip of her Dulce de Leche Frappucino, unknowingly smearing cream on her upper lip. Despite her earlier reservations, she was actually having a good time. West was a little odd and could come on strong, but he certainly knew how to show a girl a good time in a new town. "What exactly are you looking for?"

"Anything really," West gestured to his own lip, notifying Claire of the cream on hers. "Previous boyfriends?"

"Isn't talking about exes a first date faux pas?"

"Let's be rebellious."

"Okay," Claire found herself smiling again, and hoped she wasn't making too much of a fool of herself on what was her first real date. "No real boyfriends, unless you count Bobby Owen from the fourth grade. We used to hold hands during recess."

"Scandalous."

Claire gave a small smirk in West's direction, "I'm rebellious."

"So no real boyfriends. Any almosts?"

"One or two." Claire ran a quick tally in her head of her previous experiences with guys. "There was a football player. That ended messily. I kind of had a thing for a good friend of mine. We were close friends, shared secrets and all that. It turns out he had his eyes on someone else though."

"Your best friend?"

"My dad."

West burst into laughter at that remark, choking himself on his coffee in the process. "Oh, wow. That's got to suck."

With a little shrug, Claire found herself laughing too, "I got over it. Then was one other guy that I fell for pretty hard. But it was… it was complicated."

"What happened?"

"Um, he saved my life. Then I saved his life. It was… We didn't know each other very long, but we were close. A little too close it turned out. I haven't heard from him in months; I don't even know if he's alive."

"That sucks too."

Claire nodded, "That about sums up my history with boys. What about you?"

Shaking his head, West answered, "I don't really have a history with boys."

"You know what I meant."

"I know. A couple of girls here and there. Nothing serious though. Nothing even as interesting as yours."

Claire found herself more intrigued by West than she felt she should. She was honestly surprised to find that she was taking on a flirtatious tone when she was talking with him. "Oh come on, West. I don't believe this. There's got to be something interesting about you."

"I can fly."

That sentence quickly killed Claire's good mood. She was in fact certain that she must have misheard him because it just wasn't possible that he said what she thought she heard. "Excuse me?"

West nodded solemnly, "I can fly. In the air. Like Superman, minus the buff muscles and dorky tights."

"This isn't a very funny joke, West."

"No joke. I have a superpower," he reached across the table and grabbed hold of Claire's hand with his own, "and so do you, Claire."

Jerking her hand away, Claire stood up from the table she and West were sitting at, "This date's over. I'm calling for a ride."

Staying seated, West leaned over and grabbed the cell phone from Claire's hands. "You don't need to do that, Claire. I'm not going to hurt you."

"How did you know about…" Claire looked around the coffee shop before quickly sitting back and lowering her voice. "How did you know?"

"I've been watching you. It's not that hard if you're paying close enough attention. Most people just bother looking."

"I swear if the next words out of your mouth are about robots, I'm walking out of here."

West grinned, "No robots. I promised. I knew there was something about from the moment I saw you, Claire. You're special, and I don't just mean the healing thing you've got going on. Is it healing that you can do? That's what it looked like." Claire gave a singular nod of affirmation, and West grabbed her hand in his once again. "I like you, Claire, and so I wanted to be honest with you. You don't have to keep secrets from me. We can be ourselves."

"This is crazy," Claire shook her head in disbelief, but tightened her grip on West's hands.

"There are more of us than you think."

"Believe me, I know."

"So you've met other people like us?"

"Several."

"That's incredible. You're the first person I've actually met. My father had a power like me, but we've never actually met. He could fly too."

A puzzled expression crossed Claire's features, and she gently pulled her hand away from West's. "You've never met your dad?"

"No," West shook his head, not noticing the worried look on Claire's face. "I'm adopted, but a year or so ago I looked into who my biological parents were. You'd be amazed at what you can find if you look hard enough. Turns out my bio-dad was a flyer just like me."

"He doesn't happen to be a New York congressman, does he?"

"He is! Oh my God, Claire, how did you know that?" Finally noticing that Claire's mood had a taken a drastic turn, West reached out to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Claire, what's wrong?"

"Not again."