As soon as Claire walked through the door, she could feel disapproving eyes on her. Eyes that belonged to Eve. "Claire, what the hell is going on with you? I mean, you spent last night with some random strange guy and then I come home to find out from Shane that you left again. That's two heart attacks I've almost had within twenty four hours."
Damn, so Shane snitched on her. Well, if there was ever a better time for Claire to come clean, it would be now. "Yeah, I know, I've got a lot of explaining to do. Shane isn't around, is he?" Because Claire was not going to spill her guts if Shane was within hearing range. Eve nodded, and she continued. "Last night, I met a really nice guy and I slept at his house. I didn't do anything, I swear. I slept in a completely different bed. I just couldn't come home, and I know it was a stupid move of me, but sleeping here just didn't feel right."
"Didn't feel right?" Eve raised her voice, and Claire knew from experience that that was never a good thing. That usually meant that you were about to get your ass chewed out. "You slept here for months! Why all of a sudden did it not feel right? You could have been killed, so tell me, what is this spectacular reason on why you risked your life?" Claire looked at the ground and bit her lip. Please, don't make me say it, she mentally pleaded. Too bad Eve couldn't take the hint. "I'm waiting, Claire."
Well, it was now or never. "Because I couldn't stand to be in the room across from Shane and his new girlfriend! To have to hear her moaning Shane's name, do you know how much that would kill me? So yeah, I might have put my life in danger, but it was sure a hell of a lot better than hearing my ex-boyfriend doing it with some other girl, even though I'm still madly in love with him! That's a whole other kind of death; that's like suicide."
Eve's mouth dropped a little as she let Claire's speech sink in. And before she could say anything else, Michael and Shane came through the door. Claire didn't fail to notice that Shane was shooting her daggers, while Michael just looked relieved. "Claire, where the hell have you been? Shane and I were looking everywhere for you."
Before see could reply, Eve cut in. "House meeting, right now." The way she stated it meant it wasn't up for debate, so everyone took a seat in the living room. "Okay, so apparently we need to make up some house rules. And, the first rule is that you don't go wondering around town without telling someone." Claire looked at the ground, because she knew that rule was directed towards her. She felt a little ashamed that she was the reason house rules needed to be established. "Second rule, no sex in this house."
Immediately, Claire's head shot up and she could see the boy's dazed expressions. Oh, they were so not going to like her after this family meeting. Shane was the first to speak. "What? You've got to be kidding me. Why would you come up with that dumb rule?"
Michael was about to say something, but Eve shot him a look that said 'side with Shane and you won't be getting any sex at all'. "Look, I just feel that with everyone in this house having sex, we're setting a bad example for Claire." Claire was glad that Eve didn't tell the real reason as to why there was a no sex rule. She would never have been able to show her face in the house again. "If we support abstinence, then Claire won't feel the need to spend the night with guys." Okay, so maybe now Claire wasn't so glad that Eve was lying.
Shane looked at Claire in shock. "You told me you didn't sleep with him." She wasn't really sure how to answer that. Of course she didn't sleep with Chase, but if she told Shane that, Eve would be forced to tell the real reason as to why there was a no sex rule. And then everyone would know that she still loved Shane. That would make her seem weak and naïve.
"Like I said before, I'm not some kind of slut, Shane. And my personal life is absolutely none of your business." Claire sighed. It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a lie either. That would have to be good enough if she planned to keep her true feelings secret.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that", Shane mumbled before heading towards the door.
Eve called after him, though. "Hey, remember house rule number one! No leaving without telling someone where you're going!"
Shane didn't even turn to look at her; he just kept walking. "Meghan's house, and don't wait up. I'll be spending the night with her due to house rule number two."
Claire felt a stab in her chest, and she wasn't sure if it was because of guilt or heartbreak. Probably a little bit of both. When the front door slammed, she turned to look at Michael and Eve, decided to voice her opinion. "Look, I think you should veto rule number two. My own stupidity and promiscuousness is my fault. I can't blame you guys, so you shouldn't have to limit your…night activities. If anything, you should continue them, so the idea of a monogamous relationship rubs off on me."
Claire was rambling, and it wasn't until Eve laughed that she shut up. "Shane's gone now, Claire, you don't need to pretend anymore. But, wow, the idea of you being promiscuous. I don't think I could ever picture such a thing. Mary's got nothing on you."
Michael was looking completely lost, and Claire hesitated for a moment. After she realized her secret was safe with him, she decided to explain everything. "Michael, I didn't have sex with that guy last night. I might have spent the night, but I slept in a completely different bed than him."
Eve decided to take over from there. "Yeah, the whole no sex rule was because Shane is such an inconsiderate dick that he doesn't have enough decency to keep his legs closed when Claire's right across the hall. And just so you know, that rule doesn't apply to us." To prove it, she reached up and placed a sweet kiss across Michael's lips.
He let out a nervous laugh. "Wow, you really had me worried for a second." Then, he turned towards Claire with a sympathetic look. "You still love him, don't you?"
That was another question Claire didn't know how to answer. Was it pathetic to admit that she loved a guy who already had another girlfriend? "Well, we never really had a formal break-up. So, I didn't really have the time to get any closure. I come home, expecting him to welcome me with open arms, but instead his arms are already too occupied with another girl. Seeing them just makes me feel…awkward." Actually, she felt more heartbroken than awkward, but one little adjective didn't make a difference.
Michael stepped forward and enclosed Claire into a hug, and then Eve joined in shortly after. It would almost be classified as a group hug, but Shane wasn't there. "Look, just know that he still cares about you. He might be acting like a jerk right now, but I've known Shane for years, and once you're his friend, you stay his friend." Michael ruffled her hair, and she sighed. The key word there was 'friend'. Claire didn't want to be Shane's friend. She wanted to be his girlfriend.
Eve seemed to pick up on Claire's discontent, so she decided to offer her comforting words. "Shane and Meghan, they won't last long. She's nothing compared to you, and once Shane realizes he royally fu-" She paused and took a moment to censor herself. "Once he realizes he made a huge mistake, he'll be begging for your forgiveness. Sorry about my little slip of the tongue. I guess I'm going to have to get used to having a kid in the house again."
"And you're also going to have to get used to not calling me a kid. I don't like that, remember?" Claire smiled; glad to have things at least back to semi-normalness.
"Yeah, I remember, but it's still fun to tease you." Eve then looked down at Claire's outfit. "Speaking of things to tease you on, where did the rest of your skirt go?"
"Yeah, about that, can you excuse me while I go change?" Claire ran upstairs, discarded her skimpy clothing, and put on jeans and a loose shirt. She concluded that first thing tomorrow, she was going to buy some hair bleach. Being a brunette was nice for a while, but she would always be a blonde at heart. Besides, it was always nice to prove people wrong when they assumed she was a 'dumb blonde'.
Then, Claire remembered that if she had any hope of ever becoming Myrnin's assistant again, she needed to brush back up on her studies. She was a little disappointed that she couldn't enroll back in college, seeing as how it was the middle of a semester, but that didn't mean she couldn't study on her own time. Besides, professors were just there for extra help, it's not like she needed that. So, Claire's shopping list for tomorrow consisted of hair dye, new clothes, and books.
Okay, so some of you guys want Shane's POV. Well, you're going to get that in the next chapter. Also, you guys will get your Meghan confrontation. I just don't know when. I have to figure out when to fit it in xD I also apologize for making it seem that Shane & Michael don't care for Claire anymore. But, I plan to make you guys realize that they do in the upcoming chapters, so just keep reading & don't loose hope on me :D
Oh, & I want you guys to know that even though I don't reply to every review I get, I do read & appreciate every single one of them. My computer is extremely slow; I think it has a virus? & my mom isn't getting it fixed until school starts back. So until then, I can't reply to your reviews. But, if you ask a question or write anything that needs to be addressed, you can expect to get it answered in the next chapter where I write my A/N's.
xoxoxtwilightxoxox: Sure, I'd love to hear your ideas. I'd love to hear everyone's ideas, so if you have any, just let me know.
AliceCullen3204: I've read all of the books, except for Carpe Corpus. I plan to read that as soon as I'm done my summer reading for school. Blah, I'm taking forever on that, though. Haha xD