Chapter 3

"What's the matter, Claire?" Leon asked her when he noticed her expression changing.

Claire quickly back to her reality and shook her head once. "I'm just thinking. I'm thinking of this unintentionally. I'm glad when I see you here in one piece." To feel him by her side was a very pleasant time. "I miss you, you know."

"That's why I'm here." He whispered softly. They silenced for minutes, letting the music to fill their stopping words. "You are… gorgeous tonight." His sentence broke the ice. Finally, he said it. He badly wanted to say it but it couldn't come out of his mouth. He wasn't a sweet talker, but sometimes it needed for some occasions. However, he felt awkward after said that. He wasn't a good talker either, and seldom to give compliment if not necessary. "Well, since I used to see you in messy condition back then."

Claire who almost flew over to the top suddenly fell back again to the earth. "Oh, thanks, jerk." She said in a cool tone.

"Uh, I mean," he suddenly felt like want to thrust his face with chopstick. "I really mean it. You're gorgeous, Claire."

She threw her face against him, feeling unwell. "If you can't say it right, don't say it. Don't ruin my mood."

"Fuckin' great, Leon. Don't awaken the devil inside this Redfield." He mumbled unclearly, but then he coughed quickly before she knew what he said earlier.

"You know what, I really want to talk to you so badly. There are tons of stories I want to share with you. It's like it'll explode if I keep it in my head. But I don't know where should I start." She spoke finally. The music still on and they hadn't parted yet. Her face still clung against his chest, and her face became redder than before. She didn't have the idea of why her heart beating fast. She thought it'd rather be she catches a cold, than actually she finds herself have 'something' stuck on her heart about him.

"How if you start to explain why did you go there alone and risk your life?" Leon asked straight-forwardly. He meant about the stuff went on at the Rockfort Island and Antarctic. To be honest, when he got an e-mail from Clare telling him that she's in danger, he was so damn worried. He hurriedly squeezed his brain and his energy to locate her position. The feelings of upset and angry were on his mind, but he must concentrate fully at this matter.

"I told you when we escaped from Raccoon city that I will continue to search for Chris, didn't I?" she answered his question carefully, not wanting any arguments in the future.

"Did you tell me too where were you going?"

"Well I…"

"Did you tell me too about when you'd be gone?" he asked more questions before Claire could answer it. "Did you even say: hi, Leon. Sorry, but I must go now to search for my brother. Goodbye!" he paused. "You just abandoned me like that."

She was quite. Their movement stopped for awhile as Claire stepped back and pulled her hand back. "I didn't mean to leave you! But I couldn't involve other person to…"

"Yes, I am another person for you. But it'd be best for you if you having THIS another person along on your journey. I could help you!" Leon started to lose his coolness and being un-Leon.

"Listen, Leon! I have my own path, and you have your own path too! I finally met Chris and you finally recruited by the government. So what's the problem?!" she yelled. People began to be interrupted by those survivals and looked at them in confused look. "I see. So that's why you didn't reply my e-mail. You keep busying yourself with your new damn job, thanks to the government!" She crossed her both hands in front of her chest. "Now who is the abandoned one?"

Leon stared at her with puzzled look. "Wait, e-mail? What e-mail? The last time I got from you was when you begged me to help you contacting Chris!" he sounds annoyed.

"Hell no! Do you think I only contact you when I need help?" she replied. "Thanks again to our government for busying him so he didn't open his mail for about thousand years."

"Hey, this has no connection to what we were talking before!" he defended himself. His mind thought hard about what she had said. Is that true he didn't reply her e-mail? Or worst, even he didn't read it. He's not sure in either way. But she's right, he was too busy with his training and any kind of heroic stuff.

She walked back to her table and took her little bag with Leon tailing behind her. "You cornered me!" they silenced. Even the music had stopped, so people could hear them arguing clearly.

"I'm not. All I did was just asking you some questions to make it clear!"

"Well, wasn't that satisfied you enough?"

"You don't know how I feel, Claire." Leon gradually talked in soft tone but vulnerable. He already lost someone important to him, and he couldn't bear anymore burden if he would've lost her too.

"You think you know how I feel?" Claire said that in shaky voice, with her face redder not because of her heart pounding again, but because she couldn't hold her upset feeling and let it burst out. Leon swears himself he could see her teary eyes started to soak her pinkish cheek. Without any argument, the broken Redfield left him and the party by foot. Feeling her heart burned and her mind mixed up with everything, she'd rather be alone.

"Claire!" it was Chris' voice, not him. She hoped that Leon will call her and asked her back then they can talk again with cool head. But there was no sign of a person who approaches her. So she sped her pace up and gone in the middle of the night.

Poor Chris, now he was the abandoned one.

"Damn you, rookie! What did you say to her?!" Chris gripped Leon's collar, implying he was angry and lost his temper if it connects with his little sister.

"Oh, hi, Redfield." Leon greeted him calmly.

"I asked you, dammit!" he dragged Leon away from the party and cornered him to the wall, so they wouldn't bother the others.

"Just tell her I'm sorry. Excuse me." He loosened Chris' tight grip and intended to go back to his place. He was too tired from the argument between Claire, and he didn't want to bother to argue with her brother. One Redfield was enough.

Chris let him went away. Actually he wanted to kick that rookie's ass whatsoever, but since he didn't know the problem it's better for him to keep away until his sister speaks to him. So the older brother decided to call his night and say goodbye to his friends, and then hurriedly rushed to Claire's place to make sure she's okay.

In the mean time, Claire already laid down on her bed with pillow against her face. She sobbed but she didn't know why she had to. It was just feeling weird she couldn't bear her feeling. It was just a simple-tiny-childish argument, wasn't it? So why the hell am I crying for? He's not even my boyfriend or anything, he's just my partner. Okay, my special friend as I said earlier, but not more than that. I shouldn't get too carried away with this!

"Uh…" she hiccupped then more tears running down her cheeks. God please, I'm carried away for a reason I'm clueless about.

In her room, she fought herself to deny her feeling. But it just made her feeling worst than before. Until someone knocked her door and asked her to open the door.

"Claire, it's me. Can you please open the door, sis?" Chris begged from the outside, worrying his sister more than anything. But no answers. There was only heard a hiccupped from inside. "Claire, are you okay? Tell me what's going on." She still hadn't unlocked the door yet.

"Well, at least you can cry on my shoulder if you let me in."

And then there was a 'click' sound, the door was ready to be opened by him. As he was inside, he saw his sister desperately cried. He slowly approached her and sat next to her then placed his hand on top of her head, caressing her. "Just talk to me whenever you feel it."

She stopped sobbing and tried to pull herself back again. "I don't know, Chris. I feel terrible. Everything becomes one in my head." She was quite and Chris waited patiently to hear what's next. "Recently, I've got this freaking nightmare and it's like haunting me!"

"You mean the incident in that stupid island?" Chris presumed rightly.

"Yeah." Her voice was shaky because she tried not to cry anymore. "His silhouette is haunting me."

Chris knew exactly this silhouette, but he'd be better to keep it shut. "You know it's not your fault, right?" she silenced. "You should know that first."

She nodded weakly. "And then this guy named Leon came up from nowhere after a couple years we haven't seen each other. I'm glad I saw him still alive. But he is an asshole."

"Yup, he is." Chris agreed it so damn much. Especially this guy who made his baby sister crying.

"But honestly I feel happy when we danced." Chris quickly cursed Leon's name in his mind. "Does he realize how I miss him? Does he know what I feel when I had to go to leave him?"

Chris pulled her head upon his shoulder and spoke softly. "Well, I guess he does. But he wants you to understand him as well." At first the girl kept quite. Her brother was right, maybe she was way too selfish.

Claire chuckled lightly. "Chris, I'm sorry if I'm being this childish. I feel ridiculous. It's not even like me."

"Sometimes it is needed. We need to talk like a real brother and sister, you know." He smiled kindly to her. "Now wash your hand and feet before you're going to bed! Tomorrow we will wake up earlier to catch up the breakfast." He went to the doorway and shut the lamp off.

"Thanks, brother." Claire said before Chris turning away and closed the door.

"Good night, sweetie."

"Nite."