Hey guys, this chapter is rated M for some violence. Don't forget to let me know what you think and what you want to see more of!
Chapter 8
Slip Up
True to his word they reached their destination after an hour. Claire looked out the window and frowned.
"A lake side pier? Really?"
"People have fun at piers." Sylar said confidently.
"Have you ever been to one?"
"Well not recreationally. But it seems like a good place to get your mind off your worries."
Claire rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat.
"Whatever you say."
Sylar glanced at Claire. She looked like she was actively trying to not enjoy herself. He shook his head. She was going to have fun today whether she wanted to or not. They got out of the car and he led her up to the shops. To be honest, now that they were here he didn't know what to do. How do you show a girl a good time?
"Ice cream!" he exclaimed.
She looked at him like he had lost his mind. "What?"
"Let's get ice cream."
He pulled her over to a booth that had a picture of an ice cream cone painted on it. The man behind the counter beamed at him.
"What flavor can I get you?"
Sylar looked at Claire with raised eye brows.
"Um, Vanilla." She said hesitantly.
"One Vanilla and one rocky road." Sylar told the man.
They ate their ice cream and walked side by side.
"This is weird." Claire remarked.
"What is?"
"Sylar just bought me ice cream."
He smiled. "Bad guys like ice cream too."
Claire laughed. "I can't imagine you eating ice cream before."
"Oh yeah, I enjoyed a good double scoop every once in a while."
"After you'd kill someone?"
Sylar looked at her to see if she was angry, but she looked genuinely curious.
"Sometimes." He nodded.
She nodded and licked her ice cream.
"I can cook too."
She raised her eyebrows. "You can?"
"Yep. All those years alone I had to find a way to feed myself without getting obese off take out."
"What's your favorite thing to make?"
He thought about it. "I make a mean steak quesadilla."
Claire laughed. "Really?"
"Yep. I love Mexican food."
"So do I." Claire agreed.
"Maybe I could make it for you sometime."
He realized what he said a moment too late. He knew what it sounded like. It sounded like he had asked her on a date. He saw her stiffen slightly and thought she would for sure become hostile.
Instead she just said "Maybe."
His heart skipped a beat. Had she said yes to a date? No of course she didn't he chastised himself. She said that so she wouldn't hurt your feelings.
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Kassy lay on the kitchen counter and slowly chewed her gum. Her head rested on her fist and she twirled a piece of hair around her finger. Laura was always telling her to not lie on the counter but she didn't see what it mattered. Hiro was writing a letter in Japanese a few feet away from her. His face was scrunched up in concentration just like when he used his power. It was cute.
"What are you writing?"
He looked up and smiled. "A letter to my sister."
"Kimiko?
"Yes." He nodded.
"Do you miss her?"
"I did not see her much before, but I want her to know I am alright."
Kassy nodded. "Why do you scrunch your nose like that?"
"What?" He frowned.
"You scrunch your nose. Why?"
"Um, I do not know. You ask a lot of questions."
"What can I say, I'm insatiably curious." She smiled, showing her teeth.
He smiled back and continued writing. She sighed inwardly. He didn't know how to flirt. Rolling off the counter she landed agilely on her feet. Strutting over to him she peered over his shoulder. She couldn't make heads or tails of what he was writing. She placed a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at it but didn't stop his writing. She dropped into the seat beside him.
Honestly she didn't know why she was interested in him. He wasn't even her type. Perhaps it was because she loved a challenge. Hiro finished writing his letter just as Ando came into the room.
"Ando, doesn't Hiro look cute when he scrunches up his face?" she smiled.
Ando looked like he wasn't sure what to say. "Um, I suppose." He said slowly.
"See?" she said, giving Hiro a small nudge on his shoulder.
"Ando! We must mail this letter immediately!" Hiro cried, as though it was of the utmost importance. He ran past Ando and down the hall.
He was such a strange man. He would fit perfectly with her.
"What are you doing?" Ando asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you flirting with him?" he clarified.
"Oh so you could tell. I was beginning to worry I had forgotten how to do it with the amount of attention he was giving me." She said as she combed her fingers through her hair.
"Hiro has been hurt too much. Don't play with him." He said firmly.
Kassy was genuinely confused. "Why would I be playing with him?"
"Because you're…" Ando waved his hand at her "you know."
"No, I don't know. What am I?"
"Out of his league." He sighed.
Kassy leaned back in her chair in surprise. "How am I possibly out of his league?"
"Well, because… you're just…" Ando stumbled, trying to find the right words.
Kassy leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees. "Ando, tell me, how many times has Hiro helped save the world?"
Ando frowned. "Well I don't know. A few."
"Do you know how many times I've saved the world? None. So please try to explain to me how I'm out of his league. Because I think you are terrible mistaken."
Ando seemed at a loss for words. Leaping up Kassy skipped past him and after Hiro.
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Sylar sat across from Claire outside of the brightly lit café. It was dark out now and they had spent the entire day together. To Sylars amazement Claire seemed to have actually enjoyed herself. They had gone into little shops filled with seashells and other things for tourists to buy. He had found a seashell crown and insisted on buying it for her. She had firmly told him not to buy it before walking away. He had bought it any ways and placed it on her head. She still hadn't taken it off. They had lunch at a fish shack by the lake and Claire had even laughed when he tried to pay for their lunch in a solid gold bill. The fisherman had looked at him like he was out of his mind.
He had won her a large stuffed dog at a game booth and it was now sitting beside her chair. Over all it had been a successful day.
"So was today like a date or something?" Claire laughed in a sarcastic tone.
Sylar felt shock cross his face when he looked up at her. Luckily she was looking at her hot chocolate while she stirred it so he had a few seconds to compose himself.
"You wish it was." He smirked.
Claire rolled her eyes but smiled. He took that to be a good sign. He couldn't remember the last time he had had fun with somebody. Sure it had been fun for him when he had… collected abilities. But this was different. He felt genuinely happy.
"I guess we should head back to the car." He suggested.
She nodded and downed the rest of her hot chocolate. They walked together past the now empty stores in silence for a few minutes. Finally Claire turned to him.
"Today was fun."
"It was." He agreed.
"I mean genuinely fun. God it's been so long since I was actually able to enjoy myself. Who would have known I could have so much fun with you?"
"I did." He smiled.
She rolled her eyes. "Well Mr. Confidence, I hate to say it but you were right."
He just shrugged. Sylar was aware of footsteps behind him. He didn't pay them any mind. Probably just another couple walking to their car. Couple? Where had that thought come from? But suddenly there were several footsteps. Sylar felt a moment of panic. What if his father had found them? What if they were going to try to take Claire and him back? But when he looked behind them he saw that it was just a large group of young guys. Young guys dressed in baggy clothing. He didn't stop until he ran into Claire, nearly sending her sprawling. He looked forward and saw four guys walking towards them, dressed just like the ones behind them. What the hell was going on?
"Hey man. How's it going?" one the guys asked, stopping a few feet in front of them.
Sylar raised an eyebrow. "I'm fine."
"Mmm yeah, your lady sure is." He said looking Claire up and down.
Sylar felt the monster twitch. These guys had better keep moving.
"We don't want trouble." Sylar said quietly, forcing his heart to slow down.
"Well you found it." The man sneered, pulling out a knife. The rest of the crew did the same.
Sylar tried to fight it. He really did. But he just couldn't. He burst out laughing. Did this really happen in real life? Did this gang think they could just walk up to him and intimidate him? Sylar looked at Claire expecting her to be looking at him like had lost his mind. Instead she was smiling widely, as though sharing in on his joke. The gang leader looked both furious and confused.
"This isn't a joke." He shouted.
"Oh, but it really is." Sylar said trying to catch his breath. He heard Claire let out a giggle.
In one swift movement the gang leader grabbed Claire by her neck and slammed her head into a pole. And in that same swift movement it was no longer funny. Sylar felt the monster slip out. With a flick of his finger he sent the man into the wall. The rest of the gang shouted in surprise. Sylar walked so that he was standing in front of the man.
"What the hell are you doing? Let me go!"
Sylar tilted his head as he looked at him. "Do you like cutting people? Do like watching as they bleed and beg for mercy? Do you find joy in it? Because if so, we have something in common."
He lifted his finger and began to cut. As the man began to scream his gang members took off in terror. He cut until the man stopped moving. He dropped him to the floor. The man laid on the ground, his eyes staring emptily as blood ran down his face. Sylar was about to step forward and examine his handy work when there was a voice from behind him.
"Sylar?
He froze. Just like that the monster was gone, locked back in its cage. Oh god. She had seen. Seen what he really was. He turned back and looked at her. She was sitting on the ground, looking at him with wide eyes. Her crown of shells had fallen off and was lying beside her. He walked to her quickly and held out his hand, expecting her to push him away. Instead she took it and stood silently. She stared at him for a moment before turning and walking the rest of the way to the car. He watched her and felt like his world was slipping from beneath his feet. He had been so close.
He could have just shoved them out of the way and kept walking. Why had he killed the man? When he got to the car Claire was already sitting in the passenger seat. He climbed in and started driving without saying anything. What was there to say? Claire would go back to hating him and there was nothing he could say now that would change it. Every time he looked at her throughout the drive she stared out her window in silence. She didn't speak until they were nearly home.
"It's ok."
He turned and looked at her. He had obviously heard her wrong.
"What?"
"I said its ok. What you did."
He didn't understand. What was she saying?
"How is it possibly ok?"
"Because," Claire sighed "if I had your powers, I would have done the same thing."
He was at a loss as to what to say. He didn't find words until he pulled into the drive way.
"Don't say that Claire. You aren't like me. I may have tried to convince you in the past that you were but I was wrong. You are good and strong and kind. I didn't need to kill that man but I did."
"But-"Claire began, but he stopped her.
"No! I know that you hate me now and its fine. You can hate me if you want. I'm trying so hard to be a good man but I just don't know if I can be. I want too, god I want too. Not just for me, because I'm too selfish for that. I want to be a hero and I want people to look at me like they look at Peter! But they never will because I'm a monster. I kill people and I hurt people and I just-"
His words were cut off by Claire swiftly pressing her lips to his. It only lasted a second and it was rough, but she was actually kissing him. She pulled away and looked just as shocked as he felt. With a little yelp she jumped from the car and ran to the house. Sylar became aware that his mouth was still hanging open. He snapped it shut and leaned back. Warmth had begun to spread through him. Well geez, if he had known that would be her reaction he would have killed more people ages ago.
