A/N: Hey guys! Just thought I'd make a note of this…as I'm writing this, I'm listening to the Nickleback CD "Silver Side Up"…right now, the song is "Never Again"…and it's about a drunk father who beats his wife and stuff, and I just started thinking about Bender when I heard it…just thought you'd like to know for some reason…=) *sings* "Seen him before, but not like this, been there before but not like this, never before have I ever seen him this bad, she's just a woman, never again…" *trails off as song finishes…*
Chapter 4 – Claire
"Claire, who was that young man you were just with?" Claire's father asked almost as soon as she sat down in the new black Porsche.
Claire sighed. For some reason she had thought that maybe, just maybe, her father would have missed her kissing John. "His name is John Bender, Daddy."
"Hmm…well sweetie, I think John Bender is a thief," her father said, noticing the missing sparkle by Claire's ear.
"Wh-What? Why would you say that?" she said nervously.
"You seem to be missing your new earrings," he stated simply.
"Oh, well, one is right here," she said, digging into her pocket and bringing out an earring.
"And the other…?"
"I…gave it John, as a gift. Daddy, please don't be mad, he didn't steal it, or force me to give it to him…I gave it willingly," she pleaded.
"Fine," he said. There were a few minutes of silence. Then: "You know Claire, diamond earrings don't just fall out of thin air. They cost a good amount of money, and I had those ones specially made for your sensitive ears," her father said sternly. "Most girls your age would cherish such jewelry."
"I do cherish them! They're beautiful! But, I wanted to give Bender something that had meaning for me…well, us…you had to be there at detention today, I guess, but there is a good reason for giving Bender that earring," Claire said, thinking back to when Bender had been asking her how she had gotten those earrings.
"Right. Just don't give away valuable items to guys like that in the future."
"Fine, I won't."
"Good."
They sat in silence for the rest of the ride.
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"Hello, dear," Claire's mother greeted her when she walked into the large house. She gave her a hug. "I have some wonderful news, sweetheart!" her mother beamed.
"Yes…?" Claire asked cautiously, knowing that her mother was never this cheery unless she had arranged something that she loved, and Claire hated.
"Well, since you ask…I've set up for you to meet a nice young man tonight!" her mother smiled.
Claire sighed. The dates her mother set her up on were always the same, and terribly boring. It was always a clean-cut, proper gentleman who bored her with stories of his success and how much money his parents had.
"Great Mom, real great," Claire said. Her mother didn't catch the sarcasm.
"Yes, yes, I know! His name is John."
For a moment, hope flared up in Claire…but no, her mother didn't know people like John's parents.
"John Bohe. He's a fine young gentleman, 3 years older than you are and a town over. His parents are wonderful people, surely you remember Billy and Diane Bohe?"
"Yes," Claire said immediately. If she said no, her mother would launch into a lengthily explanation of who they were, and she did not want to listen to that.
"Okay, well, I arranged for him to pick you up here at 7:00 tonight, so if I were you, I'd start getting ready," Claire's mother stated.
"Mom, I don't need 2 and a half hours to get ready for a date. Besides, I have plans tonight…" Claire said, thinking of calling someone in the Breakfast Club. Particularly, someone named John.
"Well then get out of your plans!" her mother said, irritated.
"Sorry, Mom, can't."
Her mother signed noisily. "Fine. But don't expect me to cancel any more dates for you, young lady."
"Right, Mom. Got it." Claire found the phone book hiding under the TV, and took it up to her room. There were only 4 Benders in it, and only one in Shermer. She picked up the phone that was settled on her desk and dialed John's number.
"Bender residence, whatdaya want?" a man's voice answered.
"Umm…yes, hi. This is Claire. I was looking for John Bender…"
The man sighed, then yelled, "Johnny! Get your little punk ass over here! There's some chick on the phone for ya!"
Oh, great, I'm "some chick", Claire thought. She waited a few moments, then heard the voice she had wanted to. "What?"
"John, hey, it's Claire!"
"Well well well, Princess, how ya doin'?"
"OK, just bored. I found your number in the phone book, I hope you don't mind…"
"Mind? God no, its great that you called."
"Really?" Claire asked, surprised.
"Yeah. I sorta figured you would forget all about us."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"So…how are you?"
"Good. Better than I've been. My old man hasn't noticed my new earring yet," John said with a smile in his voice.
"Well, that's good," she laughed.
There was a little while of silence. "Look, Claire, I know you wouldn't call just so we could chat idly."
Man, he's good at reading minds…thought Claire. "Well…no, I didn't…"
"So?"
"I…umm…well I just wanted to know if that kiss meant anything at all to you," she said very quickly.
John was silent for a minute, and Claire became worried. It hadn't meant shit to him, he didn't care about her, it was just like any other kiss…
"Of course it did, Princess," he said softly. "I mean, it was short, but…it was a hell of a kiss."
Claire smiled. It did mean something to him! Ah, life was good…
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Ok, well that's it for Claire's chapter! THANKS FOR ALL WHO REVIEWED! And hi Sarah/Monkey!!! LoL…I'm going away from this Saturday till next Saturday (7/26 – 8/2), so I won't be able to post more chapters, but I'm bringing lots of paper with me so I can still write, and I'll update when I get back! And guys, I WILL finish this fic! I promise! I dunno how long it's gonna be, but it'll be FINISHED! WOOHOO! LoL…
I'm thinking that for John's chapter, I'm gonna continue that phone convorsation and stuff…
Keep the reviews coming, they're an author's best friend! Thanks for reading again! =)
~*~Lauren~*~