Title: A Bridge That's Burning
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Summary: Claire heads to New York because she can't sit around doing nothing at home. She shacks up with Peter and drama ensues. (and by "shacks up" I don't mean anything dirty, yet.) There is evil Simone as well, because I really don't like her. And some saving the world thrown in for good measure (but that's not really where the focus of this fiction is. I'm not good with real plots).
Author's Note: Ok, this first chapter is terrible because I'm just working through some background stuff. It'll probably get better…but it might not. Also, I haven't written a fan fiction in years so sorry if you hate it.
CHAPTER ONE – BEST LAID PLANS
Claire looked out the window to the city below. A year ago, this would have seemed impossible. Hell, a year ago she was sure she was Claire Bennett. Now even her name was in question. It seemed that having influential friends was a good thing. Her name was Claire Saunders to everyone she met now. She'd gotten an entirely new identity when she'd come to the city. Like everything else in her life, things hadn't worked out exactly like she'd hoped.
…six weeks earlier…
Claire had to get away. She knew it now. Despite her best efforts to play the part of clueless teenager, she knew she wouldn't be able to stick around much longer. Something was happening, something big. She could feel it now. Back when she first got her "powers" she'd felt freakishly alone. She became so wrapped up in herself that she didn't stop to consider the possibility of there being greater things at work. She'd remained oblivious until that day when she'd seen pure evil at work. But strangely, it wasn't the evil that occupied her mind. It was the bravery she'd seen in one person. Peter Petrelli. The person who made her realize she wasn't alone in this world. And now, she was going to find him.
When she'd first asked him, the Haitian hadn't been forthcoming about Peter's whereabouts. Still, it hadn't been hard to figure out where to find him. A quick Google search of his name brought up several stories about his brother, his family, and of course, himself. When she'd informed the Haitian that she was going to New York, he did not act at all surprised. He even smiled when he said, "I expected that you would do a little research. You'll need this." He handed her a slip of paper with an address on it and a train ticket. Claire was livid. "Why couldn't you have just given this to me in the first place?" "I could not tell you what to do. You needed to make the decision yourself." He replied, before walking away. Claire was left alone once again.
The next thing she had to do was plan her escape. Fortunately, fate seemed to be on her side in this endeavor. After seeing her appear to be perfectly normal for a week, her father apparently had decided she would be safe at home. He was planning a "business trip" the following week. Coincidentally, her cheering squad was traveling to Houston for a competition that week. So Claire packed for "Houston." At the last rehearsal before leaving, she sustained an "injury" on her left ankle. She was sure to let all of her teammates hear the crunch of a really bad sprain. She was able to limp off and drive herself to the doctor. Of course, she didn't actually go to the doctor. She simply went home, waited a few hours, and called some of her teammates to let them know she wouldn't be able to make it to Houston. She didn't tell her mother any of this, of course. So the next day she pretended to drive over to a friend's house to carpool to the airport. Her paranoia seemed to be growing. She had even left her cell phone at home. Who knew what her father was capable of? He could probably easily trace her cell phone. Also, it would help with not having to keep contact with her mother on the trip. She would simply call her mother from a pay phone when she got to New York and tell her that she'd forgotten her cell phone at home. So she probably wouldn't get a chance to call her much. So Claire actually headed over to the airport and parked her car in the parking lot. She then grabbed a cab to the train station. Everything was done in such a hurry that she didn't have a moment to think. But now, sitting in a train car she was alone with her thoughts.
She had been thankful to find two seats empty when she'd gotten on the train. It appeared that another local high school was having a band/chorus trip to New York that week. So the train was almost full of teenagers. Claire had been relieved because it was highly unlikely that anyone at the station would remember her. Any other day and there probably wouldn't have been anyone getting on the train in Odessa. As she looked around, she noticed that her particular car was populated with just a few adults. She assumed they had all migrated to this car to get away from the rambunctious teens.
"What will I do when I get there?" Claire thought to herself. The Haitian had warned her not to try and call Peter as her father could easily access her phone records. She had silently scoffed since he hadn't even given her a phone number to call in the first place. So now she had no idea if Peter would be there or willing to help her. He'd asked her if by saving her, he had saved the world. She had no idea what he meant but she was sure as hell gonna try and figure it out. And maybe, she'd find something to live for in the process.
