Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil.
A/N: So I am a huge jackass for not updating recently, but I managed to get my shit together after someone threatened to hunt me down. The good news is that during the month or so it took me to update this I did a lot of writing for this story. The bad news is that all the stuff I wrote was not for the chapter that needed to come next. I got really inspired writing for an upcoming story arc with Alice instead of focussing on this chapter. Anyway, that is why the update took so long. But that also means that when we do get to that part of the story, the chapter can be posted right away.
A/N2: Chapter title song is by Electric Lights Orchestra.
A/N3: This one is mostly filler but it lays the groundwork for upcoming chapters.
"Ahh!" Claire startled awake at the feeling of a large and heavy lump landing on top of her. Eyes darted open to see a grinning K-Mart sprawled over her. "What the hell K?" Claire groaned as she shoved her sister aside almost causing the girl to topple off the bed.
Unfazed, K-Mart maintained her position and looked at the redhead sheepishly. "Sorry, I just wanted you to wake up. I want to hear about your date!"
The redhead glanced at her beside clock and again. "At six thirty in the morning K-Mart? Get out of here and let me sleep!"
"Not until you tell me about your date with Alice." K-Mart whined, pulling the sheet off her sister.
Claire just rolled away from the blonde, tucking her knees up to her chest at the cold and cursing herself for wearing shorts to bed. K-Mart then tried shaking the older Redfield but the redhead continued to ignore her.
"Please Claire," the teen almost begged and Claire didn't need to open her eyes to know K-Mart was pouting.
"Fine!" Claire huffed as she sat up, knowing sleep was a lost cause until K-Mart was appeased. The teenager clapped her enthusiasm and sat up straighter, sitting cross legged on the bed waiting to hear the story.
"Okay, so it turns out the concert we went to was one of Alice's favourite bands."
"Score one for Claire!" K-Mart cheered, fist pumping the air.
"You have to shut up, or I won't tell you anything." The redhead warned and K-Mart quickly nodded, letting her hand drop back to the bed.
"So we go to the concert and it was pretty good, then we went to this nice little café for coffee and had a really nice talk. And then we came back here and Alice went home."
"That's it? Claire don't you dare deny me the details. I know you, and there's no way you let Alice leave with only like a hug or something. Come on Claire, you can tell me. Does Alice's kiss make you weak in the knees? Butterflies in you stomach?"
Claire stared blankly at the girl. "What do you think this is K, a fairytale?" She tried to act nonchalant but everything her sister said was true. Claire couldn't even describe the way it felt when she was with Alice. It was like she was lighter than air, threatened to float away at any second but still grounded by her undeniable pull towards the blonde woman.
K-Mart shrugged. "Maybe Alice is your fairytale." Claire didn't reply to that. "Well, can you at least tell me that you two are going out again?"
The redhead grinned brightly for the first time that morning. "Yep," she said with pride. "Alice wants to plan our second date."
"That's great Claire! I'm really happy for you. You deserve someone nice who cares about you. You take such good care of me and I want someone who can do that for you too."
"Don't get too excited K. Alice and I are not even official or anything. I don't think she's ready for that yet." The truth was she didn't know if she was ready yet either, but Claire knew if their second date was anywhere as good as the first than she would be ready soon. Shoving those thoughts to the back of her mind for the present, Claire nudged her sister with her foot. "Come on K, let's get some breakfast now that I'm up."
"Can we have pancakes?" The blonde asked hopefully.
"Don't push your luck."
As Claire rode the bus on her way to the garage for work she was somewhat surprised to receive a text message from Betty.
How was the date? - B
Good enough to get me a second date. Claire quickly responded and only a few moments later got a reply.
I need details! Meet 4 lunch? My treat.
The redhead could feel a headache coming on at the thought of having to deal with more questions about her budding relationship with Alice but still agreed to meet up and the two women were able to hash out the detailsbefore the bus reached Claire's stop.
Her new job at the garage wasn't as close to home as the diner, but it was a sacrifice Claire was more than happy to make for getting to do something she loved and not have to put in twelve hour days just to live pay check to pay check. And even though it was still only her first week working for Chase, she was enjoying it immensely. There had been a little hazing from the other guys who worked there the first day but after it became clear that she knew a thing or two about cars they were quick to back off.
The redhead was startled from her musings at the feeling of a rag hitting her in the face. She ripped off the offending object and glared at its owner. A man with short black hair was standing a few feet away, grinning broadly and trying not to laugh.
"Morning Redfield,"he greeted.
"J.D I'm warning you right now, if you fuck up my good mood I will end you." She was only half joking. J.D had been one of the few who hadn't scoffed at the sight of a woman working in the garage and the two were quickly becoming friends, even though the man had his occasional cocky moments.
He laughed, grin never faltering. "If this is you in a good mood I'd hate to see you pissed off." He sauntered over as she pulled her metallic grey jumpsuit over her street clothes. "What's managed to put you in such a good mood anyway? I mean besides getting to see me," Claire rolled her eyes as she tied her hair back. "You can tell me Redfield, did you have a hot date last night or something?"
"As a matter of fact I did." Claire replied, a smile instantly forming at the thought of Alice.
J.D waited to hear more but the redhead didn't elaborate. "Well? Out with it woman! Tell your new buddy J.D all about Mr. Perfect."
"There is no 'Mr. Perfect,' I prefer the fairer sex."
The dark haired man's eyes widened comically and Claire didn't think his grin could get any bigger, looking like a child who'd found out Christmas had come early. "Now you have to give me the details!"
Claire scowled at her friend "No way, I'm not going to illustrate some perverted fantasy for you. Besides it was only a first date and I'm not that kind of girl."
The man pouted. "At least tell me about her, she's hot right?"
Claire smirked. "The hottest. Messy blonde hair, green eyes, pale skin..."
"Hot body?" J.D offered hopefully and Claire smacked him playfully on the arm.
"That, is none of your business."
He put up his hands in surrender. "Okay!" Then his eyes lit up again. "We should double date sometime. My girlfriend will be in town for a visit in a couple of weeks and I want to make sure she has a good time. Plus, that way I can also check out your girl and make sure she's good enough for you. And the whole thing will be my treat," he tacked on, trying to get Claire to agree.
"Maybe," the redhead considered the offer."I would like to meet the woman who willingly puts up with you, even if its only in a long distance relationship" she teased. "Let me know when and I'll ask Alice."
"Alice eh? Sounds hot." He then ducked out of reach of her swinging arm to avoid getting hit again before the pair went their separate ways to start work.
The rest of the morning passed quickly and soon Claire found herself walking through the door of the small restaurant where she and Betty had agreed to meet. She spotted the dark haired woman easily and returned the hug she received in greeting upon reaching the table Betty was occupying.
"Hey Claire!" Betty's grin was infectious and Claire couldn't keep her own smile at bay as she was ushered into her seat. "Tell me everything!" The nurse wasted no time diving in before Claire was even seated.
"Why don't you ask Alice?"
"Because that woman is a vault when it comes to information, and I wanted to ask you anyway." She admitted. "Alice is a good friend, but she's too quiet sometimes." Betty rolled her eyes dramatically. "You, at least answer my questions."
Claire grinned involuntarily, she couldn't help but like Betty and felt like they were well on their way to being good friends. "Well, we're going out again so that's a good thing. I had a great time last night, and I think Alice did too. I really like her Betty." Claire admitted the last part softly, almost afraid that saying it aloud would put a jinx on the whole thing.
Betty nodded. "She really likes you too. Trust me, if she didn't there never would have even been a first date." She leaned back in her seat, mulling it over. "You know, I've been trying to set Alice up for over a year but she never goes for it. You must be something special Claire to get her to change her mind."
Claire frowned a little. "She tried to turn me down at first, but after some careful...convincing she agreed to go out with me."
The nurse grinned knowingly."And did you 'convince' her with words or with your lips?" She teased.
The redhead pretended to be offended at the accusation. "I will never reveal my methods of persuasion."She was then distracted by a familiar beeping coming from the phone in her pocket.
"Ooh, who's that? Your girlfriend?" Betty teased as the redhead retrieved the phone.
"Alice is not my girlfriend," Claire replied half-heartedly, wishing it was in fact true. "But I did get a text from her." She smiled at seeing the blonde's name on the screen.
How's your day going?
Claire looked across the table, not wanting to seem rude but Betty eagerly motioned for her to reply.
Good, having lunch with Betty.
Less than thirty seconds later she received Alice's reply.
My sympathies, hope she's not giving you the full inquisition.
Claire chuckled and shared the text with Betty upon seeing her look of confusion. The nurse huffed atthe message and began digging through her purse until she pulled out her own cell phone. The redhead wasn't sure what she was up to but had a sneaking suspicion as she watched Betty press a few buttons before bringing the device up to her ear, a half smirk on her face.
Her suspicions were confirmed when Betty began speaking rapidly, not even greeting her friend on the other end of the line. "Alice, I resent that. Claire and I are simply having a friendly lunch, something you wouldn't know anything about. I can't believe you think I'm nosey enough to lure Claire out on the promise of food only to ambush her with questions. As if I'm that concerned with your love life." Betty winked across the table as she berated Alice on the phone, not giving the blonde a chance to speak. "And even if your date were to casually come up in conversation, what would be the big deal? Not everyone is as socially inept as you, wanting to hide everything about themselves. Hmm?" Betty finally stopped speaking and Claire wondered what Alice was saying on the end of the conversation. "Okay, see you later." Betty then ended the call and put her phone away. "What?" She asked when she noticed Claire's incredulous look.
"What the hell was all of that? Some of the stuff you said was a little harsh Betty."
The nurse waved it off. "Trust me, that was nothing. Alice knows I didn't mean it, in fact, the meaner I am the funnier she thinks it is."
Claire shook her head, not at all understanding the weird behaviour her friends had with each other. "What did she say to you?" Claire asked, interested in how the blonde would respond to the verbal assault.
"She said if that was the best I could do than I should take a creative writing class." Betty simply rolled her eyes. "Oh, and she wanted me to tell you to call her later when I'm not around to eavesdrop."And without further comment Betty dropped the conversation completely, picking up her previously ignored menu and flipping through it. "I hear they have good sandwiches here."
The redhead had never known anyone who could jump from topic to topic as quickly as Betty. But she liked the other woman so she was willing to go with it. "Is that what you're getting?"
"Hell no, I hate sandwiches."Betty replied and Claire had to stop herself from face palming.
Alice only just could make out the sound of her phone ringing over the obnoxious noise of the lawn mower she was pushing. She cut the engine and grinned broadly when Claire's name appeared on the screen. Abandoning the lawn mower altogether, Alice moved to lean against a tree a few feet away as she answered the phone.
"Hey Claire," she greeted happily. "How was lunch with Betty?"
"Good, she dropped her interrogation after her little chat with you." The blonde shook her head in amusement at the memory of her short conversation with the nurse. "What are you doing? I'm not catching you at a bad time am I?"
"No, I'm at my mother's house cutting the grass. Her front yard turns into a forest if left alone for a week."
"That's sweet of you to go out there and help her out."
Alice shrugged even though the redhead couldn't see the action. "I don't mind doing it. She's done so much for me over the years, it really is the least I can do." Feeling slightly uncomfortable, she quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, I'm glad you called. I wanted to ask you something."
"Shoot."
Even though she knew Claire was going to say yes, Alice was still nervous."Do you want to go out on Saturday?" The blonde gave herself a mental pat on the back for not stumbling over the words.
"Of course, we need to see if your date can stack up next to mine after all." The redhead's cheekiness did not go over Alice. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"
"Nope, just dress casual and I'll pick you up at 8:00pm."
"Fair enough..." Anything else Claire said was drowned out by the voice booming across the yard.
"Alice, who are you talking to? I thought you were going to mow the lawn!"
"Sorry Claire," she spoke quickly into the phone. "Could you hang on a second? I just need to go remind my mother that I'm doing this for free so she should probably stop yelling at me." Alice covered the mouth piece as she stalked across the lawn. "Mom, stop yelling. I'm almost done."
"Who are you talking to?"
"Claire." She replied, instantly regretting it as Elizabeth's eyes lit up. The older woman held out her hand for the phone but Alice took a step back. "No way. You are not talking to her. We've only been on one date and I don't want you scaring her off."
"Pssh. Give me the phone Alice, I just want to say hi to your girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend."
"Well, you better get to work on that, young lady. The good ones are never available for long."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Watch that sarcasm, now let me have the phone."
The combination of her mother's impatient stare and the fact that Claire was still hanging on the other end of the phone forced Alice to concede. She quickly brought the cell up to her mouth before it was snatched away. "I apologize in advance for whatever is about to happen."
The blonde was then forced to stand and watch in horror as the phone was extracted from her hands and her mother began speaking to the redhead on the other side.
"Hello? Is this Claire? Hi, my name is Elizabeth, I'm Alice and Carlos' mother. How are you dear?" The woman waited for the redhead to reply before continuing. "So I understand that you're dating my daughter–" It was at that moment Alice attempted to grab the phone back but her mother evaded her, surprisingly still agile for a woman her age. "And I'm sure you know how much Alice likes to talk, so I obviously know very little about you." Alice knew where this was going and again tried to motion for Elizabeth to hand back the phone but was once again ignored."You should come over for diner so we can meet. How about next weekend?" She paused, and Alice prayed the redhead was coming up with a believable excuse not to go. "Oh, well bring her along too. It would be really great to meet the woman who's making my Alice so happy." The blonde's mouth opened but no words came out as she grew more flustered at every sentence coming out of her mother's mouth. "Say you'll come, please? Really? Excellent! I'm so excited Claire, you have no idea. Anyway, I'll hand the phone back to Alice, she looks like she's about to kill me. Can't wait to meet you next week! Goodbye." Elizabeth covered the mouth piece but didn't hand it over right away. "She sounds nice. I invited her and her sister over for diner next week." Mrs. Olivera stated proudly.
Alice huffed impatiently. "Yes, I heard all of that. Now can I please have my phone back?"
"Sure thing honey. Come inside when you're done with the lawn and I'll make you some tea."
With the phone finally back in her hand, Alice just stared at the device with wide eyes. Hesitantly, she brought the phone back up to her ear. "Uh..hey." She stuttered, wondering if the redhead had even bothered to remain on the line.
"Hey," Claire greeted and Alice could hear the amusement in her voice. "So that was your mom?"
"Yeah, sorry about her. She can be kind of uh, imposing sometimes."
"I don't mind. I'm looking forward to meeting her when K-Mart and I come over for dinner."
"You don't have to go if you don't want to. I know she kind of forced it on you and I don't want you to feel compelled to show up."
"Do you not want me to meet her?" This time there was no amusement in the redhead's voice. "I mean, I know it's kind of soon but..."
"No, I do!" Alice interrupted. "I just didn't think you would want to. We've only been on one date and I don't want to, you know, push things too fast? But I do want you to meet her." The blonde flushed at her honesty, hoping at least some of what she said made sense to Claire.
"Really?" The redhead's voice was small.
Alice sighed. "Yeah."
"Okay." There was a brief pause, neither knowing what to say next. "So, I guess I'll see you on Saturday?" Claire ventured.
"Yes. At eight." Alice replied quickly, grateful to the redhead for breaking the tension.
"Great, I'll let you finish cutting the grass then. Bye Alice." The redhead chirped, completely shrugging off the previous awkwardness.
"Bye Claire," Alice smiled as she ended the call, puffing out her cheeks as she let out a huge sigh of relief. Thanks to her mother, things were moving a little too quickly for her liking and Alice had almost blown it with the redhead. The blonde rubbed the back of her neck as she thought things over. The next week would certainly be conflicting for her. On the one hand she was more than excited to be spending more time with Claire but on the other, the redhead meeting Alice's mother would undoubtedly be uncomfortable for the blonde. If she knew her mother, and she did; Alice knew the evening would probably be more than a little embarrassing. Elizabeth loved to talk and Alice could only cringe as she imagined the kinds of things she would say. She would definitely have to have a talk with the older woman beforehand about what would and wouldn't be appropriate dinner topics.
Okay, so we had lots of characters in this chapter. I don't know about you guys but I am enjoying the Betty and Claire friendship.
Next chapter will be Alice & Claire's second date! And coming soon will be the Claire/Mrs. Olivera meeting.
