Author's Note: Wow! I really wasn't expecting as many reviews as I got on this. I'm really happy that you guys like it. So, without further ado, here is chapter two. Enjoy.
.grace
Sylar ignored her words, choosing instead to change the tire. They were back on the road now and the silence that hung between them was anything but comfortable. She kept to herself, lost in her head while analyzing what she had said and overanalyzing why she had even thought that it would be true. The words had just flown out of her mouth faster than her brain could comprehend what they meant. For his part, Sylar was turning her words over and over in his head trying to grasp some understanding of why they had hit home so hard. He didn't want to admit to himself that there might have been some truth to what she had said, let alone to her.
Glancing down at the clock and then realizing that it was nearing two in the afternoon, he looked at her. She was quiet and withdrawn and focused on the passing buildings in the metropolitan area they were in. For the first time in two hours, he spoke, "You hungry?"
She looked shocked that he had talked to her before mumbling a quiet 'yeah' and then turning back to stare out of the window. He pulled into the next diner he saw—which looked odd amongst the fancy restaurants.
He ordered a chicken burrito and she ordered a burger. With fries and a chocolate shake. He almost laughed when she downed the shake in two minutes. He had expected her to be one of those girls who ate salads and fruit to keep their shape, being a cheerleader and all. It was refreshing to see that she wasn't afraid to eat in front of a guy too. Even if that guy was him.
"We're going to stop in Illinois for the night." She nodded. Apparently she wasn't going to talk at all. He should be happy about that. But, they were still about seventeen hours away from Washington and they were going to have to spend the night. Alone. Together. In one room. So, he at least wanted her to act like her normal self. Her normal bubbly, snotty, annoying self.
The waitress came back with their food and gave him that shy-flirty smile—the one that he never would have gotten as mousy Gabriel Gray. He let his gaze linger a little longer on her retreating form, fully aware of Claire's glare. With laughter in his eyes, he turned back to his cheerleader. "Problem?"
"No." she spat.
"Come on Claire-bear." He goaded. "Wasn't it you that wanted to make this trip easier?"
"Yes. But that was before you became an even bigger ass."
"Oh really? The way I see it, it was before you decided to talk about things you have no knowledge of."
"I know more about you than you think, Gabriel." He froze. "I've read your file."
"You've read my file?" he sneered. "Well, look who's becoming a Company girl. Too bad I killed Elle; you could have been the best of friends."
"You killed Elle because you felt something for her and you were afraid that she would leave." Dangerous territory meet Claire.
"I killed Elle because she was a liar."
"How so?"
"She knew that Angela and Arthur weren't my real parents and yet she let me go along with it. She let them use me as their weapon." He was mad and there was no doubt about it.
"You felt betrayed by someone you cared about. But, I'm going to do you one huge favor because I know what my father did to you." His eyebrow rose in curiosity. "Elle didn't know."
"You're lying." She had to be lying. Elle had flinched. But, there was no tell-tell sign of her lying. His ability would have picked up on it. "Why did you read my file?"
"I wanted to know what I was getting myself into. I have your father's file too." She told him and saw that it caught his attention. "You can read it if you want. It'll have to wait until I can charge my laptop battery."
He only nodded and went back to his food. The conversation was apparently over.
"All my exes live in Texas and Texas is a place I'd really love to be." She sang. She still didn't understand why she had provoked him that morning, but he was compromising now. He let her turn the radio on and even answered the occasional question. Maybe she hadn't been wrong about him after all.
It would just take time to prove that to him.
"Country Claire? Really?" he asked.
"I am from Texas you know. It's like a mandate that you listen to country music in Texas."
"Obviously."
"Well, what do you want to listen to?" she tried and he smirked before leaning forward and hitting the scan button.
"I'll know it when I hear it."
She was surprised when the hotel they stopped at wasn't gritty like the one she had picked the night before. Even if he did have an ability that made it easy to get whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it, she figured that he would want to stay off the radar as much as possible. But, when she asked him about it, he simply said that the agents would be expecting them to stay in shitty motels and he was tired of sleeping in roach infested rooms anyway. Claire had to agree. Roach equated to disgusting in her book and she was happy to stay as far away from them as she could get.
She was even more surprised when he splurged on a suite but she didn't complain. Instead, she grabbed her toiletries and proceeded to soak in the large tub. It was just the type of relaxation she needed.
When she came out of the bathroom, she found Sylar on the one bed with her laptop. Apparently, he had found his fathers file. She wondered what he was thinking when he read about his mother, if he even knew his mother, or how she had died. She wondered if he was comparing himself to his father and maybe thinking that he wanted a different life. She had seen his face on his father's porch and she could honestly say that the thought that he could end up like that bitter old man scared him.
Wrapping her hair in one of the hotel issued towels and tying the strap of the robe on her tighter, she bounded over to the bed, "Whatcha doing?" she asked with a smile and he looked up noticing her for the first time.
"Reading."
"Your father's file?" He nodded. "So," she goaded.
"He's a bastard."
"Well, yeah." She agreed. "What are you going to do about it?"
"What do you mean?" she couldn't help but smile softly as his eyebrows rose in confusion. It was not good that she was noticing his facial expressions that much.
"I mean, you didn't kill him but I know that you don't want to end up like him." She started, hoping that he wouldn't get mad at what she was going to say. "I know you don't want to be alone or you wouldn't have pointed out that even though you're going to live forever, so am I. You wouldn't have told him that I would always be around."
"So?"
"So, you don't have to spend the rest of eternity alone."
"Yes I do."
"No you don't Sylar." She got up on her knees in front of him before grabbing the laptop and moving it away. "You don't have to be alone. You don't have to fight the hunger by yourself."
"And who's going to help me Claire? You?" he sneered.
"Yes!"
"Why?"
"Because, because nobody deserves to be alone." She finished.
"And what are you going to tell your family? I know you Claire. You may be mad at bio-dad and Noah now, but it won't last. You'll forgive them their transgressions."
"The same as I'm forgiving yours."
He looked thoughtful and she decided that that was a good thing. She knew that one conversation wasn't going to change his mind. He seemed like he was punishing himself and she knew that it would take more to get him to open up and let her help him.
She couldn't be an offensive hero. Her ability didn't allow it nor did her family. But, she could save hundreds of lives if she could just be a hero to one person. He needed her—whether he knew it or not.
She was up early the next morning and took a few minutes to watch him sleep. He looked so innocent that it was hard to believe that he was Sylar and not Gabriel. She ran her hand down his cheek and frowned. Sometime her heart was too big. She still wasn't for sure that letting herself care about him was a good idea, but she had already resigned herself to it.
She was dressed before he finally woke up and stumbled to the shower. He wasn't a morning person. By the time he reemerged from their overly large bathroom, she had ordered breakfast.
"Looks good." He said noticing the assortment of pastries and fruit.
"Thanks. I didn't know what you would want so I just got a little bit of everything."
"I see that." He nodded and sat across from her. "We've only got about ten hours until we get to Washington."
"That's good. We should get there today then right?"
"If we leave soon and don't make too many long stops then we'll be there by seven or eight tonight."
She nodded. "So, we're just going to go in and you do your thing?"
"No."
"I thought that was the plan?" he smirked at her bad impression of him.
"I want to get a good feel for what I'm running into. No reason to go in unprepared."
"True." She agreed and took a bite of her waffles as he ate some fruit and a bagel.
They turned in their key card and had a new car by nine.
Suite: .com/London_West_Hollywood_?open=off
Dressed: .?album=633&pos=1
Car: ./3083/2319549454_
