So, I tried my hardest to make it as much like Shane as I could.

Please leave reviews and let me know if you think I should continue! If I do, I'm going to stick to the book as much as I can but please be aware that I'll be adding things in there that weren't in the book, simply because Shane's not in every chapter of the actual book, so I'll have to fill in some stuff if that makes sense.

** Rachel Caine owns everything!

I knew I was dreaming and that was the sad thing. I couldn't enjoy this happiness because I knew it wouldn't last; it wasn't fair. I wanted to be happy, I wanted to laugh with Mum and Alyssa, to hug them and stuff myself with the food in the picnic basket. But unlike in some dreams where I couldn't remember the real world, I knew that they were dead and that this wasn't real.

"Yo!" I heard Eve yell from somewhere. I looked around the park but couldn't see her anywhere in the open space. "Shane, I smell the chilli. I know you're here! Get your headphones out of your ears!"

The dream shattered and I woke up on the couch in the living room. I felt like crying - I hadn't wanted to come back to reality, I'd wanted to stay with Mum and Alyssa. But of course, I didn't cry, I rarely ever cried after dreams of them anymore. I yawned and sat up after hearing Eve's boots clomping down the hallway to the kitchen. There was a girl stood looking at me with a bruised face. She looked small and delicate; vulnerable. How anybody had it in them to hurt her, I didn't know.

A cautious look crossed her face - as if she didn't know whether to feel welcome or scared - and she opened her mouth to speak, worry flashing in her eyes. I grinned and put my finger over my mouth to shush her. "Hey," I said, using my gentle tone to try and make her feel a little more comfortable. "I'm Shane, what's up?" I blinked and my vision became more clear as I woke up properly and I realized her bruises were actually worse than I'd first thought. "Dude, that is a badass shiner. Hurts, huh?"

She just nodded, probably not trusting herself to speak. I sat up properly and watched her as she watched me. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, her expression didn't give much away, but I thought she felt a little intimidated because she wouldn't meet my eyes for more than a short second at a time. I still couldn't believe that someone had hurt her, she looked harmless, kind of like an older Alyssa. But even then, the girl only looked young, definitely younger than me… Was she a friend of Eve's or was she here about the room? Probably the latter: I couldn't imagine Eve ever having a friend like this. Talk to her, I told myself. Just say anything, this silence is getting awkward now.

"So," I said. "I guess you're gonna say that the other chick looks worse?"

She shook her head which I knew was going to be a bad idea; she winced at the pain it brought on. "No, I - um - how did you know it was-?" She stammered.

"A chick? Easy. Size you are, a guy would have put you in the hospital with a punch hard enough to leave a mark like that." I tried to keep a frown off my face. I hated it when guys beat up girls - because of Eve and her dad, I knew the effect it could have and leave on the girl. "So what's up with that? You don't look like you go looking for trouble."

She sighed, her eyes staring off into space for a moment as if she was lost in her own thoughts. Finally, she looked back up at me and waved embarrassingly awkwardly as she said, "I'm Claire. Hi."

Man, was she awkward! She just stood there, absentmindedly playing with her own fingers and darting her eyes back and forth from mine. I nodded towards the chair and she slid onto it with a sigh of relief, her feet dangling in the air which just proved how small she was. Watching her, I got the strange sense that she belonged here, like she somehow fit in even though sometimes it felt like even I didn't fit in here.

"You want something?" I blurted out, desperate to have a distraction from my thoughts. "Coke, maybe? Chilli? Bus ticket back home?" I added the last question on as a little joke, but she didn't notice that.

"Coke… And chilli."

"Good choice," I smiled. "I made it myself."

I stood up and walked into the kitchen where I found Eve making up an ice pack. "How's she doing?" Eve asked as I started filling a bowl full of chilli. "You better be being nice to her, she's a mess, the poor thing."

"I've been lovely, as per usual," I answered, earning an eye roll from her. "She's a little awkward, but she seems nice enough, so I think she deserves some of my amazing chilli."

"Whatever." She got a can of Coke and put it on a tray with the ice pack and a spoon. "Give me the bowl, I'll take it in for her."

I gave Eve the bowl and she put it on the tray before heading back into the living room to Claire. I grabbed myself a can of Coke, opened it and took a long drink, savouring the ice cold taste. Then I headed back into the living room and flopped back down on to the sofa, taking another sip of my drink.

I was aware of Eve glaring at me so I looked at her and smiled, knowing it would piss her off. "Yeah, man, thanks for bringing me one too. Dork."

I waggled my eyebrows and shrugged before saying, "didn't know if you wanted zombie dirt sprinkled on it or anything. If you're eating this week."

"Dork! Go on and eat, Claire - I'll go get my own." She shot me another glare but I didn't take it personally, it was just how Eve and I were around each other most of the time, and left the room.

My eyes drifted back to Claire who was taking a tentative bite of the chilli, just like anybody else would if they found out I'd cooked it. It was my speciality, well, the only thing I could cook anyway. I remembered the day Mum had taught me how to cook it, a happy memory that always made me smile. I was guessing that Claire liked the chilli considering she started shovelling it into her mouth as if it was her first meal in years. I raised my eyebrows, surprised because the girls I usually met were all watching what they ate and only ordered a salad or something if we were on a date. Eve wasn't like that of course, but I never really paid attention to her eating habits that much anymore because I was so used to her being around.

"S' good," Claire mumbled when she saw me watching her.

I gave her a lazy salute jokily and settled back into the couch, staring up at the ceiling, glad that my mind was blank (I hated it when everything was quiet but thoughts were screaming wildly at me in my mind). Eve came back into the room with her own bowl of chilli, leaving the room in silence for a few long minutes.

"Not bad," Eve said. "At least you left out the oh-my-god sauce this time."

I sat up so I could look at her, but remained slouching in my seat. "Made myself a batch with it," I said. "It's got the biohazard sticker on it in the fridge, so don't bitch if you get flamed. Where'd you pick up the stray?"

Eve flashed me a look that clearly said 'don't call her a stray, it's disrespectful and you're not funny.' I thought differently, but there you go. "Outside," Eve said. "She came to see the room."

So I was right, just like always. "You beat her up first, just to make sure she's tough enough?"

"Bite me, chilli boy."

"Don't mind Eve," I looked back at Claire. "She hates working days. She's afraid she'll tan."

"Yeah, and Shane just hates working," Eve retorted. "So what's your name?"

Claire opened her mouth to answer her, but I got there first, happy that I seemed to know more than Eve and could let her know that. "Claire," I said. "What, you didn't even ask? A chick beat her up, too. Probably some skank in the dorms. You know how that place is."

Eve and I exchanged a look, silently agreeing that we definitely knew how rough that place could be. Eve turned back to Claire and asked, "is that true? You got beat up in the dorm?" Claire nodded and stuffed more food in her mouth; a gesture to stop herself from having to talk, one I knew all too well. "Well, that totally blows. No wonder you're looking for the room. You didn't bring much with you," she pointed out.

"I don't have much," Claire answered timidly. "Just the books and maybe a couple of things back at my room. But - I don't want to go back there to get stuff. Not tonight."

I grabbed my old baseball and asked, "why not?" It was obvious she was scared, but I was still curious and nosey. I threw the ball into the air and caught it perfectly. "Somebody still looking to pound you?"

"Yeah," she looked down, embarrassed. "Guess so. It's not just her, it's - she's got friends. And… I don't. That place just - well, it's creepy."

Poor Claire, I thought. I didn't really know her but I could already tell that she didn't deserve to be beaten up and scared like that.

"Been there," Eve said. "Oh, wait, still there."

I mimed throwing the ball and she mimed ducking, before she asked, "what time is Michael getting up?"

"Hell, Eve, I don't know. I love the guy, but I don't love the guy. Go bang on his door and ask. Me, I'm gonna go get ready."

"Ready for what? You're not seriously going out again, are you?"

"Seriously, yeah. Bowling. Her name's Laura. If you want more details, you're gonna have to download the video like everybody else." I stood up and walked towards the wide staircase. "See you later, Claire."

Eve moaned and said, "wait a minute! So what do you say? You think she'd do OK here, or what?"

I waved a hand at her and shrugged. "Whatever, man. Far as I'm concerned, she's ok."

I looked at Claire one last time, our eyes meeting across the room. She really did have beautiful eyes, not that I'd tell her of course, it'd probably make her want to run a mile because of how creepy it would sound. Instead, I gave her one of my rare sweet smiles, the ones that were crooked and automatically made people smile back because it made me look like a genuinely nice and kind person… If only they knew the real person behind that smile, they wouldn't smile back then.

I didn't wait to see if she smiled back, I just headed straight upstairs to get ready for my date.