Chapter 10: Projection

The next morning Claire walked into the facility, thinking about her mindslip the day before. She'd always thought that a man would have to be a little bit more than handsome and intelligent before he impressed her. How delusional could she have been if she had forgotten all he did to her just because he looked vulnerable and miserable and she saw some exposed flesh. Of course it didn't help matters that nobody had ever touched her in an intimate way, that she was a virgin, hungry for experience, the exploration of loving, the feel of a soft, warm body covering hers and most importantly one of those somewhat mysterious penises she mostly only've seen at anatomy class...

She shook herself out of the visualization of fantasy body parts, with some difficulty, blushing to herself a little. She made a mental note that she will have to acquire some sort of sexual experience as she sometimes felt ridiculously attracted to men she didn't think she could have a long term relationship with. Perhaps waiting for the perfect man and the perfect moment was not the best idea for college student, but she would've wanted at least one thing in her life to come through she idealistically once imagined as a young girl and that was how she could end up a untouched twenty years old.

Almost bumping into Peter on the corridor quickly returned her thoughts to the present and she almost shrieked in fluster. Did Peter hear her thoughts on being a virgin? See those intimate body parts she imagined so out of context? And most importantly, did he know she had to catch herself hankering after Sylar's tall, dark and handsome features?

Peter seemed bleary-eyed, rubbing his face. The mimic didn't look like one who had just been shocked out his socks by somebody else's thought process, rather one who'd want to fall asleep. "He wants you," Peter stated flatly, as if too tired to be bothered by elaborating.

"Who?" Claire jumped. Her head was so much not in the right place that momentarily she didn't even know who her young uncle was talking about.

"Sylar," Peter gestured airily, "he's not a hundred percent, but he has healed overnight. My mother wants him to do the interview, but without disclosing the company's past or present. He has agreed to the terms, with the condition of you being by his side. His words."

"By his side? Meaning what?"

"Meaning be there to help him if he needs help."

"How do you know that's what he means?"

"I was listening in. He wanted someone there who doesn't have a hidden agenda, a person he can trust and that seems to be you. I can't tell you anymore cause I really had to temporarily get rid of that power, immediately after! Different guards were planning on how to cheat on taxes or what to eat for breakfast, along with others dreaming about winning on mega millions and the possibility of coming out the closet and all at the same time! Not to mention that my mother also arrived and I was in no mood to find out that her unfavorable opinion of me had not changed, but no such luck. Emma gave me an encouraging squeeze of the shoulder seeing how I had this headache and I was more than happy to switch to her power for a breather. Can't say the sick headache disappeared though," he frowned.

Claire smiled at him, happy that Peter's current power meant none of her incident thoughts were out in the open. "For your headache," she hugged him briefly, but warmly, allowing him a transfer of her cell regeneration ability, then continued to her initial destination, contemplating the new information. So Sylar trusted her, no matter she tried to kill him numerous times. Was it that love was blind, or did she earn it with the fact that she didn't intend to complicate his life instead as most others did.

The beautiful young woman opened the door leading to the prisoner curiously to find the collector of abilities sitting up with pillows behind his back, watching her intently as she strode up to him. He was still quite pale with fatigue, the whiteness of his skin making a sharp contrast with his black hair and dangerous, dark eyes. That look was predatory, she established, but since he was in no position to hunt and already had her ability, she realized it only could've been in a sexual sense that somehow, did not scare her. If Sylar would've wanted to have his way with her, take her by force, he could've done it any time using his powers. It was obvious that he was angling for a favorable reception from her part, even if it took him centuries to achieve it.

A certain pride welled up in her. She was surely good looking enough to be a cheerleader, but she knew that wasn't mainly what attracted Sylar. She had impressed him with her strong will, determination and a compass of morality Samuel Sullivan could never have.

"So here we are," he intoned, "as I told you, our destinies are entwined and you can not escape destiny."

Claire however, did not intend to continue with his cat and mouse games, "you're in love with me, is that true?"

Sylar's eyes widened for a split second, then uncharacteristically to his composed and structured, control hungry insanity, he noticeably blinked abashed. Claire could've sworn she did really get to see the pools of his soul for just a moment, revealing a flicker of pain, nothing more.

"I can't love you," he declared matter of factly, as if to himself, "as love, like freedom, happiness and trust, does not exist. Not in our world." His tone was even and emotionless, yet his very words reflected his belief came from how much he had suffered in his life.

Claire opened her mouth to object. She felt like nobody should feel that was the truth. Besides, she would normally automatically argue with anything Sylar said anyway. But then she realized she was pretty hazy on the concept of love herself. There was once an idealistic time roundabout when she just started hight school when she fell for the all-out loads of guff she had been told about in class, hogwash like democracy, justice, selflessness and yes, love, but none of her relationships seemed to have mirrored the theory. Her mother and Lyle practically ran to the hills when they found out the truth, whether they would openly admit it to anyone or not, along with many others. Her father could only see things from his own perspective, Peter felt propriety was more important, than physical attraction and Gretchen, well, Gretchen could not and would never really want to understand her world for being too scared of it.

It was so, that Claire did not reply to that one, in silent agreement. Peter had said that Sylar had feelings for her, so what? She already knew that and it obviously wasn't love as it did not exist, "why do you want me here?" She reformulated the question, "some sort of game? Am I a constant challenge to you who you need to win over to feel more regent perhaps?"

"You prefer the real thing as opposed to games?"

With her hands on her hips offensively, Claire looked at her opponent taking stock of him. He was annoyingly handsome, she would have to admit that. Her imagination ran away with her for a moment again, visualizing how a life with Sylar would be like for anyone he chose to treasure and protect: safe, passionate and wild. But it only appealed to her for a little while, "I prefer to know the rules of the engagement."

Sylar turned his palms up as they were, lying in his lap, giving himself over apparently as truthfully as if that was the only available option. His tattoo was clearly visible, but by chance, not by design, "I need you," he put the emphasis on the latter word, obviously believing it too. Evolved human abilities did not lie, so neither did Lydia's form of combined empathy and precognition and Claire knew it too.

Tbc