Because You Found Me
Chapter 20
By obi's girl
"I don't want you to feel that you have to hide anything from me, Peter," Claire continued. "We're roommates now. It's going to take some getting used to, and I'm sure that there will be many memorable moments we'll both wish to forget, but no more secrets, Peter. None at all."
Peter studied Claire closely. He didn't want there to be secrets between them, either, and if Claire was going to stay at his place for a while, he couldn't hide from her anymore about what was coming. He needed to at least warn her. "Claire, there is something that you need to know," he started. For a moment, he flashed back to those few minutes on the subway when a future Hiro came to him and told him about the explosion, and Claire, of course. He hadn't had the chance to tell her in Odessa, but now he had Claire's full attention.
But how to break it to her that the explosion that Hiro prophesied was because of him?
It doesn't have to be now, does it? I don't have to tell her now, Peter theorized. I'll find a way to control my powers, and I won't have to tell her.
"Peter, what is it?"
Peter smiled. "Nothing…you want to rent a DVD? I know a place not far from here that rents DVD's very cheaply."
Claire looked at him skeptically. "You're a very bad liar, Peter Petrelli, do you know that?" she joked.
He shrugged. "What can I say? I've always been a boy scout at heart."
"Okay," she conceded, "I won't press you anymore about whatever is on your mind. Let me grab a sweater and I'll be right out." Claire jumped off from the couch and ran back to her room. She came back out a second later wearing a pink jumper, and fixed her hair into a ponytail. Peter grabbed his keys and the two left.
Ten minutes later, Peter and Claire raced back up the stairs to his apartment. Foolishly, Peter hadn't checked the weather before deciding to take Claire out and rent a DVD for them to watch together. And in New York, weather was often very unpredictable, but he did remember watching the news earlier that morning and the weatherman saying that there was a chance for a small shower in the afternoon.
Claire went to the couch, undid her hair and put the tie in her pants pocket. Her jumper wasn't too badly soaked from the rain, only slightly. Peter went to the linen closet and came back with two towels. Her handed one two Claire and used the other to dry himself off.
"Sorry about that, Claire," he apologized.
Claire smirked, hurriedly drying parts of her hair. "That's all right. I guess rain will have to be one of those New York things I'll have to get used to," she joked, and happened to glance at the TV in front of them. "Since we're stuck here, do you have a TV guide?"
Peter looked behind the coach and spotted it, sitting on the dining table. He stood up, brought it over and gave it to Claire. Claire looked at the date and then started flipping through the pages. "Anything good?" Peter wondered.
"Not much," she offered and then proceeded to look at what DVD movies Peter owned. Some of the DVD's he'd borrowed from Nathan and forgotten to return, and others he'd bought himself.
Claire had a somewhat annoyed expression on her face as she looked through his collection, and instinctively knew it was because there was no suitable movie for a girl to watch. They were all action/adventure. She sighed and finally settled on one, popping it into the DVD player. Claire sat back on the couch, handing Peter the DVD cover.
He wandered which one she'd chosen and then smiled once the Disney logo appeared on screen, accompanied by the DVD menu and random pictures from the movie.
"I've had a crush on Johnny Depp for, like, forever," Claire mused as she hit the 'play' option and the movie started. "And Pirates of the Caribbean is definitely one of his finest works."
Peter shrugged. "I've always been partial to Edward Scissorhands. He's a man with scissors as hands, but with a big heart," he joked.
Claire hmm'd and didn't say anything as the first scene came up.
tbc