"The Midnight Diner"-Jlaire Fanfiction

It had been a week or two since the night they had et and Jim and Claire had spent a lot of time together. Currently, Jim lay on her bed, phone held above his head with both hands. Claire had to admit to herself that she had a major crush on this boy. He was genuinely one of the most caring people she'd ever met. He suddenly fumbled the phone in his hands, losing grip on it for a moment, it lands on his face awkwardly. He fumbled around with it; face suspiciously red, presumably due to whatever was on the screen. She laughed loudly at him, "What, your hands suddenly stop working or something?"

He was laughing at himself as he propped himself on his elbows so he could look at her. "Nah," He scratched the back of his neck nervously, "sudden burst of gravity I guess." His eyes darted around nervously for a moment.

She kept giggling at him before suddenly throwing down the book and pen she was using saying, "Hey, I'm starting to get hungry, you wanna go grab some food?"

"Uh, yeah. Actually, I've got a place in mind if you'd like to eat some real food. You know, rather than shitty cafeteria food?"

"Yeah, that sounds great!" She grabbed her sweatshirt, slipping it over her head before grabbing her keys and wallet, slipping them into her pocket. "Ready?"

"Yeah," He jumped off her bed before grabbing his everyday blue sweater and leading the charge out of the dorm. Jim led them off campus, down the street, and eventually led them to a diner that was open all night.

They sat at an open corner booth, specifically because Claire wanted to sit in the cushioned corner and Jim wanted to watch her smile. She was as excitable as a small child and Jim loved to watch; her smile was infectious. She secretly knew he was watching her but decided to ignore it. She took a glance at their surroundings; it was late but this was an all-night diner in a small college town so there were a few late-night study groups and a few individuals scattered about. Next to them sat a couple obviously on a date.

They were a cute couple, Claire recognized the boy as Steve Palchuk, and they were in drama club together. The girl she was less familiar with, but she had seen her at a production or two, her blonde hair very recognizable.

Claire brought her attention back to the boy sitting across from her at the table. He looked nervous and embarrassed at the same time. He was so cute. She took a moment to look at the menu then, it had the usual diner food salads, sandwiches, grease-covered fries, and large greasy burgers.

"So, what are we thinking, folks?" The waitress had approached them without Claire noticing.

They ended up getting a basket of fries for them to share, a soup and sandwich for Claire, and a burger for Jim. They fall into a normal pattern of conversation, laughing and flirting back and forth. Dinner was great, and coffee even better so that they could stay up and continue to study when they got back. "How's the monologue coming for theatre?" Jim stopped mid-chew. She had caught him off-guard by asking about their shared class. It was the one performance project that was coming up for this theater class. They had been asked to prepare one of three monologues chosen by their teacher.

He swallowed and shrugged, "I honestly don't even know which one I'm going to do."

She laughed, "Of course not! You know Jim, I can help you. I have some experience with these things."

"That might be one of the reasons why I've been putting it off," He admitted shyly. "You're already so good at this kind of thing and I don't know… I haven't really tried it."

"Jim! You could have just asked! I'm always willing to help."

"Yeah, I know, I'm just not very good at asking for help, Claire."

"I know," She was smiling smugly as she plucked a fry from the basket in between them. "I think it's cute."

He was already avoiding her eyes, looking away from the booth altogether.

"I think you should do the Romeo one. It's fairly easy and well-known. I think you could do it well." She averted her gaze as he looked up at her. Her face went bright red, "I think you'd make a good Romeo… I'll even help you practice."

"That would be great Claire. Thank you."

About a week later they sat in class, waiting for their turns to perform their monologues. It came to Jim; his stomach was obviously in knots as he walked to the front of the room where Claire sat. He had in fact prepared the Romeo monologue that Claire had suggested, and she had been a great help. He stood in front of the projection screen, taking a deep breath before stating, "My name is James Lake Junior, and I will be doing the monologue from Romeo and Juliet."

Claire was beaming from her seat, on edge with excitement and pride. She had helped him with his confidence, she had seen him grow, she had such a crush on him.

He took another deep breath dropping his shoulders to a relaxed state and opened his eyes to begin, "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!" His eyes fell to meet hers and she began to blush almost feverishly, "Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou art far more fair than she." He gave the room a scan like she had taught him, trying to perform for everyone, even though his gut kept telling him to keep his eyes on her. He couldn't seem to help himself, his eyes rested on her once more.

"Be not her maid, since she is envious. Her vestal livery is sick and green, and none but fools do wear it. Cast it off. It is my lady; O, it is my love! O that she knew she were! She speaks, yet she says nothing. What of that? Her eye discourses; I will answer it." She could not take her eyes off of him. Jim was truly a sight to behold, taking the front of the classroom for himself as if he were an actor in center stage. He kept looking at her earnestly, honestly reciting this profession of love. "The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars as daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night. See how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!"

By the time he had finished, Claire felt as though she could no longer breathe. Jim truly had a gift and she felt as though he had been holding out on her in the week that they had been practicing.

After class had ended, Jim and Claire walked back to Claire's dorm together. "You know, I told you you'd make a great Romeo." She hit his shoulder with her own playfully.

"Yeah well, I had some pretty great help," He smiled shyly.

"You know, the drama club is doing Romeo and Juliet this semester… You should audition. I have a feeling you'd do really well."