Authors Note: Okay people, the next chapter is up. I don't want to seem desperate or anything, but seriously people, I need some kind of review. ^_^ Oh and for a heads up, Gretchen is entirely normal, I had people read this and they thought she had some ability…just warning you, she does not. OH! In addition, some people may think WTF out of this chapter and some may kind of like it, please tell me which one it is.
Mohinders Class
The walk to our Advanced Biology class was silent; the silence seemed to hang in the air, creating a heavy weight that rested easily on my shoulders. I was determined not to look at Gretchen, my mind already in a confused frenzy from our first brief encounter. I studied the tiled floor, slightly mesmerized by the complex patterns when my neck started to incline toward the girl next to me. Without thinking, my eyes left the floor to rest on Gretchen's milky white face; my eyes caught the taller girl's hazel eyes staring directly at me. I arched an eyebrow at her causing my companion to blush and immediately drop her intense gaze; the blush painted a brilliant red to her smooth and pale complexions.
I fought the desire to smile at her, when I noticed that I had broken my determined promise not to look at the girl. Damn it! So apparently, when I don't keep my mind busy it wanders to Gretchen. Great, just splendid, apparently I don't have control over my own body, as if I don't have enough problems. I was about to finish my rant in my mind when I noticed my eyes had wandered from the floor back to the tall brunette.
My body barely contained the confusion and anger that rippled through me, my emotions creating large and dangerous waves to crash over my surprised body, forcing my gaze to rip from the blushing girl to the floor. I studied each tile that my feet stepped on, forcing my body to focus and chastise my heart that seemed only interested in the girl who walked with flowing steps next to me. Her legs had a slight tone of muscle and contained the constant creamy alabaster skin that covered her body. She wore a light pair of skinny jeans that ended at her ankle, flat tan sandals, a sky blue jacket that covered her long sleeved white shirt, that had grey stripes that went down to her waist, white buttons with a single grey stripe that went down her front. It was all very flattering on her, it complemented her slender body…wait…damn…im staring at her again.
I let out a small growl, glaring at no one but the door that was coming up fast; my eyebrows knitted together a tight grimace already in place. I felt my fingernails deep inside the skin in my palm, blood starting to trickle from my wounds, only to immediately heal. I shook off the tiny droplets of blood and quickened my pace, we were almost to the door and I needed to get away from this girl.
My little hand reached out to grab the doorknob only to stop when the familiar slender hands come into my vision and grab the door in front to me, pulling the door out for me a sweet smile gracing her lips as she stepped out of the way for me to enter. I couldn't contain the small chuckle that flittered from my mouth; I whispered a small "Thank you" and walked past the beaming Gretchen. The classroom was already full, leaving two seats in the front that sat side by side with each other. Gretchen beamed and I tried to contain my happy hearts fluttering beats as I took a seat next to her. Gretchen bounced in her seat, obviously excited, her eyes dancing with joy and excitement. My tongue unraveled as words started to flutter out of my mouth.
"What made you want to take Advanced Biology?" I was about to turn my head and pretend those words never left my mouth when Gretchen turned her head towards me, smiling her breathtaking smile. I immediately stopped in my tracks to listen to the girls answer. Gretchen bit her lip slightly, her eyes finding a sudden interest in her hands as a blush started to appear on her cheeks.
"Well, I always have found the human body interesting; DNA has always caught my interests. I guess what really made me want to learn more was when my Biology teacher showed a tested animal in class, the mouse had two tails, they had changed its DNA around by switching a few of its amino acids to create two tails." My body froze as she talked, anger started to flare inside, burning all rational thinking, I was about to snarl my response at her until her musical voice reached my ears again. "I thought it was disgusting, the way our kind thinks we have every right to change whatever we see to our liking, I spoke my distaste for our teacher and I got kicked out of the class into a more complex Biology class to study DNA mutation." She shrugged slightly an adorable pout coming over her face, my anger melted away immediately. "That class is what kind of sparked an interest and I always figured that, the more I knew about DNA, I could eventually help stop the insensitivity given to animals during their testing." Gretchen's eyes were for once harsh with determination, her fist slamming on her hand in an animated way, causing a very comical scene to play out across her face. I nodded in agreement, trying very hard smile at this gentle girl, who cares about the feelings of a poor tested animal.
"I agree, they have no right to take a normal being from what it originally was, into something else just to "learn more", their should be boundaries in today's world but sadly no one is willing to change." Holy shit, did you just spill that? Her eyes glanced to mine, and we stared at each other for several long seconds. I placed my chin on the palm of my hand, becoming very serious with this sudden staring contest. Her eyebrows twitched in surprise before a large smile spread across her features as she copied my stance staring directly in my eyes. My heart stuttered slightly in my chest.
I felt the laughter building inside of me, making my lips start to tremble with holding back the strong desire to laugh. Gretchen must have noticed my concentration to stop my laughter because, very slowly, her eyes started to go cross-eyed, an adorable lopsided smile spread across her lips. I lost all control, my laughter filled the room as she continued to make her silly face. I tilted my head back to laugh uncontrollably at the ceiling as my lips twitched into the biggest smile my face was able to produce. Gretchen's eyes glazed over slightly as my laughter filled the silent room; her gaze flickered to my lips then back to my eyes, another blush filling in her cheeks.
A loud sound snapped me out of my laughter, bringing me to look at the very surprised eyes of Mohinder, his eyes staring strait into my unwavering gaze. His dark chocolate eyes widened in shock, then narrowed with distrust and suspicion, a tight grimace pulled at his dark lips as he walked to his desk. He hasn't changed at all, dark curly hair brushed his dark olive toned skin, his creamy dark skin tight with his forced artificial smile. His gaze still wavered to mine, his slender fingers found their way to his curly black hair, wiping it out of his face. He gave me one last glare before turning his back on me; his shoulders stiff as he straightened his posture slightly, his hands slightly wavering with indecision and confusion. Poor Mohinder, he probably thinks im here to do my daddy's dirty work. That fool, he was there to watch Peter's death, he of all people should know of my stubbornness to return to my family. Gretchen noticed my little interaction with Mohinder; she looked between us with an uneasy gaze, confusion flickering in those bright hazel eyes of hers.
Mohinder started and ended his lecture with absolutely no passion, which is to be expected when you find an ex patient, in which you inflicted great pain towards, in one of your classes. Although I wasn't paying much attention, I was completely transfixed by the tall brunette who had been swept off her feet by Mohinders lesson, obviously never had a class with his intoxicating voice. I watched from the corner of my eyes as Gretchen was completely taken in by the information that left Mohinders lips, most of it was an introduction but when he started reviewing what we would be learning, Gretchen perked up, her eyes burning with unanswered questions.
When the class was over, I found myself still staring at the tall girl, unable to rip my gaze from her face. Seconds went by, I still couldn't turn my gaze from the beautiful girl, her large hazel eyes found my intense gaze, and she blushed, a timid smile taking her lips as her eyes danced in amusement. I felt myself blush and I looked away, ignoring my frantic heart, my eyes studied the empty room looking for my dark haired professor.
My heart became frantic for an entirely different reason, he was gone, had slipped from the room escaping me entirely. I appraised the room with angry eyes, we were the only ones in here, and I had dazed off and allowed him to escape. I needed to ask him important questions! I jumped up from my desk, prepared to chase after the sneaky man when a small squeak caught my attention. Gretchen, caught off guard by my sudden movement, leapt from her seat and landed on her behind, a rather shocked expression on her face. She immediately tried to brush it off as nothing, a bright blush turning her pale face a dark maroon.
I heard her mumble something very dark under her breath and I had to keep my face from cracking into a smile, my mood was turning quickly from angry to happy to confused, only to sink into depression. I really don't want to smile or feel any type of happiness; I just want my job to be over and then be on my own again. Yet the more time I spend with Gretchen the more I slip from my well-built, cold, emotionless Claire to a more…relaxed Claire. I really don't have time for this; Sylar is killing and hurting people and im fooling around in college. Self-loathing started to spark to life within me, pulling me into my cold emotionless shell, restraining my constant rebelling heart.
A large crash filled the room and my head snapped down ward to see Gretchen, on the floor. Her hand had slipped from the chair she was pulling herself up on; the chair was tilted upward, unbalanced and twisted. My hand had caused the chair to bend, the metal now twisted slightly from my anger. Gretchen stared in disbelief at the now somewhat uprooted chair, her face expressing her surprise. My body moved without thinking to Gretchen's position, lifting her up easily to a standing position, her body shaking slightly when I grabbed her shoulders to steady her swaying body.
"Are you okay Gretchen?" Her name easily flew out of my mouth, my heart making it known that now is the first time I have said her name. Her eyes glazed slightly as she stared down at me, a distant smile on her lips…oh my god she must have hit her head. I waved my hand in front of her face, panic starting to arise inside of me. Gretchen's eyes focused onto mine, a blush covering her entire face, then looking down, smiling sheepishly.
"Im fine, I always have had the most graceful ways to get out of my seat." She smiled then looked down at the wreaked chair. Her eyes widened slightly, her gaze darted to me, she cocked her head to the side from confusion, then looking down at the tilting chair.
Oh boy.
Her eyebrows knitted together, her eyes meeting mine, a quick and confused glance before shaking her head, her face relaxing at the impossibility of her accusation. I let a quite sigh of relief escape from my mouth as she smiled at me. I nodded and started walking away; I stopped suddenly when her hand found my arm, stopping me from leaving. An electric current shot through my body and I jerked my hand from her grasp, immediately regretting it as Gretchen's face contorted in hurt and pain. She looked down, ashamed, as her hand fell limp to her side. Her lips mumbled a quite apology; her eyes avoiding me entirely, my muscles constricted and decided to work against me, moving me towards Gretchen. I cocked my head to the side, waiting patiently for Gretchen to start again, she smiled softly at me before giving me some room, stepping back a small step.
"What is it Gretchen?" Wow, try holding back the venom Claire! Seriously, you sound like you want to kill her. Gretchen noticed my forceful voice and backed up again, giving me more space than before an anxious smile on her face, the kind of smile you would give a dog that may bite. I felt a tearing sensation in my body, my body deciding to split into two teams, quite voices whispering around my head, either furious or calm and relaxed. The voices made it hard to concentrate on the girl in front of me, who was now talking, a fearful hint in her voice.
"I…uh, was just wondering if you knew our professor on a…personal…level…" Her voice grew more quite as she continued, her eyes flittering to the floor back to my face to study my expressions. I tried to hear her through the growing voices in my head, I only heard, professor and personal level.
"Personal?" Hmm, what would Mohinder have to do with a personal level? Oh wait, I think I just answered my own question. Gretchen was now silently shrinking from my eyes that flashed from calm to panicked, anger always a constant companion with my rebellious emotions. "Oh, he knew my father from work." It was the most basic answer I could give and I hoped Gretchen got from the tone of my voice that I really didn't want to talk about it.
"Oh, what does your father do for work?" It was an innocent question, but like a flame on gasoline, inevitable, I clenched my jaw, eyes flashing with anger and distrust, my hands clenching into tight fists. Gretchen jumped back in surprise, fear widening her eyes as she looked at my glaring form. I let out an angry sigh, words escaping out of my open mouth.
"He works for the Government." I turned away from the shocked and confused girl, hoping that she didn't hear the disdain in my voice or the absolute hatred flash into my eyes. I turned to look over my shoulder to see Gretchen looking at me with confused eyes, fear quickly disappearing as she started jumping to conclusions. Yes, of course she did, does this girl miss anything? Let me clear this up, I don't hate my father, I hate what he does, what choices he makes, how he forces and controls everyone, manipulates people to work for him. I hate the government man in him, but the father that would give me bears all over the world, sit by my bed, and let me cry into his shoulder when I was done with the "doctor appointments" I love, its just a shame that most of who he is, is the government man. I sighed angrily and walked out of the class room, retreating back to my brain barely caring if the girl followed me to our dorm or not. My insides seemed to twist with anger, shame, confusion, pain, and other foreign emotions that have escaped from their cages.
Anger for being weak again, for allowing my emotions to escape, shame for snapping at this poor girl who obviously didn't mean to touch me, who didn't mean to pry into my personal life, who just had the unfortunate case of being my roommate. Confusion for feeling such great pain and shame for hurting this girl, why should I care if her feelings get hurt, so much more can be at risk if I open up to her. Ugh, I don't want to feel this again! My brain tried to force everything back into their restraints and form a new layer of the cold ice, encasing my heart that had started to crack. My heart berated painfully as my mind tried to control its revolting body, it refused to give up, pulsing the life I didn't deserve through me. The whispers that I had pushed to the back of my mind suddenly started to swirl in my mind. A light voice, clear and sympathetic whispered its words through me, sounding oddly like myself. "Shh Claire, don't be like that, you have suffered long enough, relax and give in to your hearts desires. It's not nice to keep it from being happy." A small giggle came from the light and happy voice that sounded very much like me. Odd. Although this voice was wrong, I couldn't just forget about what I have done and be happy, but it didn't keep me from hoping that everything could just be forgiven and forgotten. I could almost imagine the light voiced me pouting at the end of my thoughts. I think I will call her Good Claire. There was a high pitch giggle again, agreeing to the name. God, I've gone insane.
A dark chuckling intruded through my mind, making my small frame shiver from the dangerous hiss. Ha, what a joke, stop living in your fantasy Claire, if you seriously think that everything could just be dropped and forgiven just like that than you are as much of a fool as "Good Claire" Ah, with every good their must be a bad, I shall call her Bad Claire, and it is now certain that I have lost my mind.The dark chuckling reverberated against the walls in my head making everything inside cold, sinking my heart at the dark things that came from my mind. As long as im insane, I might as well give them faces. Good Claire was a picture of me as a cheerleader as Bad Claire was a form of what I looked like in the beginning of the four years. Good Claire pouted as Bad Claire smirked. Ha! Who will help me now that I've gone completely bonkers?
I sighed sadly, as I walked aimlessly through this campus, so being emotionless definitely wasn't the best idea. I now have two personalities fighting each other, each demanding and complaining. Great. A sudden poke to my side made me jump, a scream filling the silent air.
"AH! What!" Gretchen jumped as I yelled surprisingly loud.
"U-uh were a-at our d-dorm." Her usual musical voice now stuttered nervously, jumping all over the place, afraid I might bite her head off. Oh right, I forgot that I had rather scared her with my glaring and unpleasantness. Gretchen looked at me with a fearful gaze, but a challenge lingering in the depth of her eyes, confidence tilting her head upward, appearing somewhat intimidating…if she didn't look scared shitless. Wait were at our dorm! I jumped and looked around the hallway, surprised that we had suddenly appeared at our dorm. Gretchen giggled slightly at my expression, opening the dorm room for me, and going out of the way motioning with her hand, for me to enter. I answered with a thankful smile making her eyes light up, a pleasant smile taking her lips. I took a deep breath and entered my dorm. I really have to stop staring at her lips.