So. Hi guys. I'm back. I'm so sorry for the huge breaks I take between updating. I suck But yeah, I'm back again ;) I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, there are more to come! Please R&R and let me know what you think, and if there's anything in particular you want me to write in, or anything you DONT want me to write in, etc. Thank you so much to the people who put up with me and my ridiculously long updating gaps. Sorry again. Hope you enjoy :)

Looking back, Claire's breakdown was ridiculously embarrassing and childish. She had cried and cried and cried - about nothing and about everything. She allowed Eve to fuss about her, to sit her on the couch and wrap her up in blankets and hug her and make her eat chilli dogs. Michael had left Eve alone to look after Claire, probably just assuming this was a girl thing and he was of no help. Claire could hear the faint strumming of his guitar coming from upstairs, and she found it comforting. It sounded like home.

Once they had both eaten their share of chilli dogs, and Claire's eyes had finally run dry, Eve asked her if she wanted to talk about it. Claire had shaken her head no, and Eve had pursed her lips, but questioned her no more. The truth was, Claire didn't even know what "it" was. Sadness about Shane. Embarrassment after being caught out with Myrnin. Guilt, for kissing him. More guilt, for liking it. Too many emotions were running through Claire, after spending so many months trying not to feel at all. She had subconsciously built up a wall against her feelings, trying to ignore the pain caused by her losses. She had forgotten what it was like to feel. Today's events had unleashed everything she had been holding back for so long, and it had hit hard.

Only now did Claire realise how emotionally and physically drained she was. A quick glance at the clock told her it was 8.34pm. The sun had still barely set, but suddenly tiredness wrapped itself around her. Her eyes felt heavier than bricks, and she struggled to pay attention to the words coming out of Eve's mouth. "Claire? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just - wow - really tired. Sorry. Do you mind if I go sleep?" Eve's eyes were full of concern, and Claire felt a sudden surge of guilt for all the stress and worry she must have caused her friends throughout the past six months. She knew Eve and Michael were worried. Hell, she'd known that for long time now. But after reassuring Eve several times that she was okay, and apologising profusely for ruining the nights plans, Claire was finally allowed to retreat to her room. She didn't bother changing out of her jeans and tshirt. She just got straight into her bed and buried herself under the covers, and she fell asleep almost instantly as all the stress of the day faded from her mind.

Myrnin. His hands were all over her. His lips pressed little kisses onto hers, then slowly - torturously slow - began moving their way down to her neck. More kisses. Then Shane. He didn't look like the Shane she remembered - he was darker, somehow. You left me, he said. Left me for a bloodsucker, Claire. You left me! Claire's breath caught in her throat. She was still standing there with Myrnin's mouth all over her neck - the kisses slowly getting more and more intense - and his hands roaming her body. She tried to push him away, but he only pressed his mouth harder into her, and moved his unforgiving hands faster. You left me. Shane's voice echoed the same words over and over, his disturbingly dark eyes burning deep into Claire's. You left me. "Myrnin - no - please," she gasped, trying again to push him away. He broke away from her neck for just a moment, so that his eyes could look into hers, before he he sunk his fangs deep into her flesh.

She woke with a start, gasping. It took her sleep-muddled mind a few moments to process the fact that it was still very dark in her room so it wasn't the morning. She rolled over and looked at the little alarm clock that sat on her bedside table. 3.42am. She was still reeling in terror from the dream. She didn't know what had scared her more - Myrnin's touch or Shane's words. She felt trapped and claustrophobic under her covers, and struggled to kick her legs free from them. It wasn't enough. The room was pressing into her, the feeling of claustrophobia growing stronger and stronger. Maybe Claire really was going crazy. She honestly didn't know. All she knew was that she needed air, needed to get out of the house. She grabbed a jacket to throw on over the clothes she had worn to bed, and put on a pair of sneakers as quickly as she could without making any noise, before carefully slipping out her bedroom door and down the hall. As she made her way towards the front door, she caught a glint of silver in the darkness - the keys to the hearse, that Eve had left on the table. Claire had come out here with the sole intention of sitting outside for a few minutes to clear her head and get some fresh air. However the sight of the keys lead her to make an on the spot, spontaneous decision - very uncommon for Claire, but she wasn't entirely sure she was in her right mind right now. She knew she would regret this. She knew Michael and Eve would make her regret it. But the next thing she knew, she was strapped in the hearse, cruising down the empty streets of Morganville - thankful that there was no longer any creatures of the night roaming them - on her way to visit Myrnin.