A/N: Sorry about the long time between updates. I've been occupied with writing my other fics. Anyway, here's the latest chapter. Enjoy!
"Where the heck are they?" Claire exclaimed as she peered through the crowded carnival makeshift streets. Claire immediately knew that this carnival was one of the ones that was extremely easy to get into but exceedingly difficult to navigate out of. Every stall and sideshow created a new alley or street that was filled with people. It was fun and exciting for most people, but incredibly frustrating for the people who were trying to find someone.
"I dunno," answered West, frowning slightly as he scanned the streets beside Claire. He immediately wanted to forget about Peter and Elle when he arrived here and start trying to win at one of those sideshows. He swore that they made the ring toss rings too small to fit over the target. But it never stopped him from trying.
"Seriously!" Claire threw her hands into the air. "Where the heck are they?"
"I dunno." West repeated, speaking with enough insistence in his voice to match Claire's.
"Well did we get the right carnival?" Claire asked, turning to stare at West with accusing eyes. It would be just like him to take them to the wrong place.
"How many other carnivals are in New York and open tonight?" West said defensively with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.
Claire didn't answer, instead scouring through the crowds of people once more. They had lost track of Peter and Elle a little while back. After they had finished their conversation with Molly they had come immediately here and waited… and waited.
"Do you think they even showed up here?" Claire asked as she glanced back at West.
West shrugged unconcernedly. "No idea." He paused for a moment then laughed. "You don't suppose they're in the back of a car somewhere or a hotel? That would make Matt happy."
Claire shook her head and didn't even bother to answer. About ten minutes after they first arrived here, they had flown back to the restaurant to check if Peter and Elle had even left. When they saw the car still parked between two others, they had—after a moment of bank stares—came up with a plausible explanation. They had just assumed that Peter was making Elle's first date as special as he could—and what was more special than using special abilities to take them wherever they wanted to go? Claire had actually been impressed with her uncle when that reason came out in the open.
"I'm just saying I wouldn't put it past them." West said in response to Claire's silence.
"So you just want us to peek in the windows of every hotel in Manhattan had hope we get lucky?" Claire said sardonically, turning to smile at West.
"Well you don't have to do it."
Claire laughed and turned her attention back to the carnival streets. "You just want to make use of that thing around your neck."
West picked up his binoculars and held them loosely in one hand. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't. I bought it especially for this occasion."
Claire smiled widely and began to scour the streets again. Her eyes lingered on each persons face before flickering over to the next one. She thought it was probably strange that this reminded her of the Where's Waldo? books Molly always examines.
She visibly stiffened in surprise when her eyes fell on a familiar face. Immediately her own face paled and she took a giant step back to hide herself behind West.
"What? What is it?" West asked, twisting around so he could look down at Claire's face.
"Just, stay there okay." Claire hissed as she looked past West towards two men who were walking by. "You remember when I said I stole a guy's car to stop him flirting with Elle?"
"Yeah," replied West as he looked back into the street. "Wait, is that him?" He pointed towards the shorter of the two.
"Yeah, that's him alright." Claire said. Off all the times and places why did they have to be here now? Claire didn't think that anything back would happen if they actually did see her. She didn't think that they had gotten a good look at her when she stole the car—but who knows? They might just piece two and two together. How many tiny blondes were really around New York City?
"It'll be nothing, Dean." The taller one was saying. Claire searched her memory for a name but it was coming up blank.
"How many times is it really nothing, Sam?" The shorter one—Dean retorted. Claire didn't actually think he was that short. His brother just made his six-one look like five-nine. "I'm telling you that pin moved on its own!"
"You're imagining things!" Sam insisted.
"I'm not. Weird crap always happens in places like these." Dean stopped and faced his brother. Their difference in height was hardly noticeable when they stood face to face like that. "Remember last time?"
"Okay, okay." Sam said in a resigned tone, almost like this had happened to him before.
"Good. Okay." Dean said, walking with renewed pace through the carnival street. Suddenly he turned back and nudged Sam in the ribs, grinning widely. "Just scream if you see a clown."
Sam scoffed and followed his brother through the street. "Jerk."
"Bitch."
Claire watched as the two brothers disappeared into the crowd before moving out from behind West. "Did you just here that?"
"Yeah," replied West, "people are crazy."
"No. No." Claire shook her head. "About that pin that moved. You don't think that…"
West looked down at her, his eyes widening slightly as he thought of what Claire was thinking. "No. They wouldn't… Would they?"
Claire shrugged. "Elle would, no doubt about it. But Peter never really struck me as the cheating type."
West shook his head and smiled in open amusement. "So, where do we start? There has got to be like nine or ten of those pin sideshows around here."
Claire shrugged. "No idea. Your guess is as good as mine."
Half-an-hour. That was how long Elle's cheeks were flushed with excitement. It was half-an-hour of cheating over and over again at the various side-shows. Telekinetically knocking over pins and fitting rings over targets. Peter had been forced to stop Elle from doing the ring toss. The booth's attendant was giving them suspicious glares. Peter wondered if they really did make it impossible to win at the ring-toss. After Elle's third successful attempt at getting the ring over the target and after Peter's third time of telekinetically forcing the ring to fit, he had grabbed Elle's hand and they had begun to lose themselves in the labyrinth of alley's and streets in the carnival.
Elle had a royal blue, soft-toy bear tucked under her arm. She had explained that her father had never let her have toys like this before because he'd been afraid that she'd accidentally set them alight when she got over-eager or over-excited—or light them up purposely when she was in a bad mood. That bear had been the result of Elle throwing several baseballs at a stack of bottles. Peter hadn't even needed to help her on that part—aside from one instance when one of the pins hadn't fallen and he had given it a slight nudge.
"So, where do you want to go now?" Peter asked as he deposited his slusho carton in one of the many bins that only half the people seemed to use. It's your call, wherever you want to go, we'll go."
Elle smiled up at him and her own slusho carton followed Peter's into the trash. She poked out her now slusho-dyed, bright blue tongue and paused for a moment. "You've been taking tips from West, haven't you? Claire told me that that's what he said on their first date."
Peter grinned and pretended to scuff his foot against the ground. "Damn, I forgot that you and Claire talk now. It wasn't so long ago that you two couldn't stand each other."
Elle giggled. "Yeah and now that we do talk, you're gonna be losing all of your little tricks."
"Come on, Elle. Choose a place." Peter insisted.
Elle frowned for a moment, her brow furrowing in deep thought. After a moment she said. "So if I said that I wanted to go to the Hollywood sign, you'd take me there?"
"I'd say that its pretty cliché and that you'd be copying Claire, but I'd still take you there."
"Hmm." Elle said, pursing her lips together. Her eyes brightened as she finally thought of someplace.
Peter's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise when he picked up the location in her head. He had forgotten completely about that place and judging by Elle's thoughts, she had just remembered that place existed too. "You want to go there?" He smiled down at the blonde.
"You said when we got here you weren't gonna read my mind anymore." Elle said accusingly. Her blue eyes twinkled in the Carnival's bright lights. Peter stared, completely captivated by Elle. He was glad they weren't invisible for the moment because he would have been sure that someone would have walked into him.
Elle returned his stare with unblinking eyes. She tried to make everything into a game, Peter realised. He knew that she did it regularly—that little game they played back at the restaurant had been exciting for Peter. He found out that he loved seeing Elle red-cheeked and stammering.
Peter reached out and grabbed her hand, quickly turning invisible. He didn't care who saw it, all that really mattered to him at this moment was her. He didn't think about his long, private war with Sylar, or the fact that he was on the prowl again. He was in the here and now and it was with her.
"Okay." He smiled and closed his eyes. He heard Elle gasp in surprise, he didn't think that she had even been teleported anywhere before. He was pleased at her reaction—he had taken a piece of advice from Molly, something that she had picked up from her best friend Micah Sanders: What was the point in having these abilities if you didn't use them? He had planned on using that advice ever since Molly had said it and he was glad it was all going to plan.
He opened his eyes to Elle staring around in wonderment. A light breeze was shifting her hair around her face. Peter reached out a hand and pushed a lock of hair to the side. "Why did you want to come here?" He asked.
Elle looked at him, seemingly surprised at his question. "Aren't you gonna read my mind?"
Peter shook his head and grinned.
Elle shrugged and hesitated. "I don't know." She said finally. "I just remember coming here when I was a kid. Daddy knew the owner; I think they were old friends."
"Charles Deveaux." Peter stated as he looked around the rooftop. Old memories were resurfacing in his mind. He remembered being whacked around by a wooden pole here. He remembered his heart getting broken by Simone up here. He looked back at Elle and smiled. All of that was in the past. He was in the here and now with someone he cared about. He had a feeling that all of the bad things that had happened to him up here would soon be shadowed.
Elle nodded and pulled herself onto the roof's ledge, sitting on top of it easily. "I think I must have been about fourteen or fifteen, I dunno. I remember Daddy speaking up here with another founder. I knew it was about me, or at least I thought it was about me." She smiled as another thought struck her. "I remember someone else being here at the same time. He had his nose in a comic book the entire time and kept pushing his glasses back onto his nose when they fell down. Daddy wouldn't let me speak to him, he told me to sit her and don't move. I really wanted to say hello but whenever I moved Daddy would just look at me and make me stay still."
"I've been up here a lot." Peter said quietly as he moved to lean against the ledge beside Elle. "I used to take care of Charles before he died. Before I knew what I could do."
Elle grinned and ruffled Peter's hair absently. Peter tensed expecting the shock and was surprised when it didn't come. "You alright, Elle?" He asked.
"Yeah," the blonde replied. Peter winced as a small shock passed from Elle's palm onto his head. It was a small shock, probably the smallest he had ever received from her. He had thought Elle wasn't capable of producing electricity with that low a voltage.
Peter was silent, not even reacting to Elle's small jolt. His stomach twisted in guilt when he remembered the fierce animosity he had harboured towards Elle when they had met for the first time since he escaped. Over time she had grown on him until all that anger had been replaced by affection. It was that affection that had made him try to get Claire to talk to her.
"You alright, Petey?" Elle asked, imitating his words from before, tone and all.
"Yeah," Peter replied, twisting around to pull Elle down beside him. he heard her breath catch at how close their bodies were. Peter bent his neck and softly pressed his lips against Elle's. The last time they had done this was back in his cell at Hartsdale and that one hadn't lasted long before Elle had shocked his lips.
They parted and Elle rested her head on his shoulder, a pleased smile decorated her face. Peter looked down and tenderly wrapped his arms around her.
As he bent his head for another kiss, several thoughts flashed through his head. He knew he hadn't felt this way about anyone before—not even the feelings he had for Simone compared to them. I think I love you, Elle. He thought as an excited shock leapt from Elle's lips to his. He didn't notice the slight sting. All he cared about at the moment was the woman wrapped in his arms.