'Move it over…just…a…bit! Yes PERFECT' Eve's sing-song exclamation didn't do much to shift the nerves in Claire's stomach. Having decided that nothing 'normal' happened to them Eve had decided and proclaimed one night over chilli that the Glass house was throwing a party; thing was half the guests were vampires. Claire looked around the living room, Michael had moved the sofa from its central location to the far side of the room and single handily carried the flat-screen TV up to the spare bedroom so that it wouldn't get broken. The room was softly lit by the multi-coloured string of mini lanterns draped across the ceiling and wrapped around the banister, on the fold-out table large plastic bowls of snacks were placed along with a larger than necessary crystal punch bowl filled with some blood-red concoction of fruit juice and alcohol. Tonight is going to be messy Claire thought to herself making the mental resolution to avoid the punch as best as possible. 'Eve is this really necessary?' Michael asked as he hooked up the stereo to extra speakers, Eve turned to her husband, sauntering over to where he knelt 'oh baby everything I do is necessary' she cooed leaning over his shoulder to flip the mains plug, her hair brushed his cheek and before she could protect he had her draped over his knee she laughed whole-heartedly before being silenced by a tender kiss. Rolling her eyes Claire removed herself from the room heading upstairs. 'If anyone wants me I'll be getting ready!' she called for anyone's attention, 'oh CB I laid something special out for you' Eve called after her a playfulness laced into her voice, as nice as it was to hear them two being happy it annoyed Claire having just suffered her second break-up of the year.
Shortly after Shane had left he relationship with Myrnin had taken an unexpected turn; though there had always been a sort of tension between them Claire had always mistaken it for a sort of hostility, mainly from her side knowing that Myrnin was more than a little fond of her, but soon she realised that she reciprocated the feelings and they had become an exclusive item. Sadly it hadn't lasted but the split was borne from a mutual decision; she hadn't thought she would be as affected by the split as she was but pushing thoughts of her romantic life down she proceeded to prepare for the party. Leaving the bathroom the sultry sounds of an acoustic guitar could be heard coming from Eve and Michael's room; seemed even Michael was dreading the night's festivities. Opening her bedroom door Claire nearly dropped her towel in surprise; Eve was sat at her mirror applying another layer of mascara to her already caked lashes, though her make-up was heavy it never looked like too much to Claire's amazement, when she saw Claire in the glass she spun around with a wicked grin on her face. 'Right Claire Bear, Mr Mad Scientist is coming tonight and you need to look fabulously wantable so that he can see what he's missing' she winked and sashayed over to Claire, the netting of her skirt swishing, the inlaid glitter glimmering as it caught the light.
After an hour of preening and sighs of exasperation from Eve after her hair would not behave, Claire stood at the top of the stairs listening to the sound of the party in full swing. Her shoes made echoing clicks on the hollow wood as she descended the stairs; she took in the sight of the packed living room with a clear divide being formed between the few human guests and even fewer vampire guests: Hannah Moses stood looking awkward next to Monica Morrell who paid both close attention to her perfectly manicured hand and the smart phone in her other hand. Michael stood with Eve near the punch bowl in deep conversation with a younger boy Claire recognised as the kid from down the block that came to the house for guitar lessons; Eve rolled her eyes as they began to talk technics and catching sight of Claire made an over dramatic shrugging gesture before smiling slyly and pointing towards the kitchen door. Stood leaning against the frame was Myrnin looking extremely bored and out of place; though dressed to a near normal state, in a pair of straight black trousers and collarless shirt, he looked awkward in his seemingly relaxed stance.
Claire faltered, her breathe caught in her throat as she looked at his profile, she hadn't been to the lab for a week because of classes and mid-terms and she had almost forgotten how beautiful he looked. After an explosion in the lab he had been forced to cut his hair, which he had sulked about for a month, it sat at mid-neck meaning the curls had been lost and it sat at choppy uncoordinated angles that wouldn't normally work but did on Myrnin. Claire recalled the burn that had streaked across his face, but no hint of it tainted his flawless skin, but she could still see the faint redness of his eye even from this far away. As if sensing he was being watched he lazily dragged his gaze up from the floor and directly connected with her eyes, something flashed across them as he looked her up and down but it was quickly extinguished and he returned his gaze to the floor, shifting his feet unnecessarily to show his boredom. A bubble of anger boiled up in Claire, stomping the rest of the way down the stairs she grabbed a cup from the table next to the stairs, throwing back the contents which made her wince, before making a beeline for Myrnin. He didn't look up as she stood before him, making the bubble grow bigger, 'why are you here?' she spat at him, shrugging he answered 'I was invited…by yourself if I do so recall correctly which I know I do' he looked at her then. She clenched her fists at the total blankness in his eyes 'if you're so bored then leave, you've fulfilled your obligation!' she turned on her heels and thundered away taking the cup offered to her by Eve.
As the night progressed, Claire made it her mission to avoid Myrnin as fully as possible. With the alcohol flowing the atmosphere in the room gradually turned from boiling to a simmer; the room eventually filled with the noise of chatter, the volume increasing to the point where the stereo was turned up which eventually encouraged a few people to dance. Soon there was little room to navigate between the tightly packed bodies. Claire and Eve danced, hand in hand, to the upbeat tempo of 'Call Me Maybe' by Carly Rae Jepsen; singing along to the lyrics they began to laugh. Eve pulled Claire into a one armed hug, they began to sway on the spot, as Eve shouted into Claire's ear 'on the next song make it apparent you mean Myrnin!' she nodded her head towards the vampire who stood with Michael: the song faded into a brief nothing when sudden the strumming of a guitar and the crooning voice of Taylor Swift came from the stereo, the room erupted into whoops as the verse built to the chorus when everyone began to join in; catching Myrnin's eye Claire began to sing along 'I knew you were trouble when you walked in, so shame on me now: blew me to place I never been 'til you put me down, I knew you were trouble when you walked in, so shame on me now: blew to places I never been, now I'm lying on the cold hard ground…' in sync with everyone Claire and Eve threw their fists in the air shouting the 'oh!' before collapsing into Eve, both girls giggling as they hugged each other, her eyes never left Myrnin; he looked at her darkly before setting his cup down Eve making drink gestures before following Myrnin from the room.
She found him on the front porch with his back to the front door. He sensed her coming but still didn't turn around, a cold wind whipped at the hem of her Lolita dress causing Goosebumps to rise on her arms and shoulders. Crossing her arms she walked over to him, stepping down the first step so that she could look up at him 'well, you caught my attention Claire,' he said looking down at her; his eyes were pitch black in the silver light of the moon, his white skin translucent making the shocking contrast of the paleness of his skin to the darkness of his hair more prominent. She roamed her gaze across the porch, making out the silhouette of a couple making out in the far corner, her ears picking up strains of Lady Gaga's 'You and I'. When she returned her gaze to Myrnin he was still looking intently at her, she took a step back onto the top step of the porch so that her eyes were level with his, 'so now that you have my attention what shall you do with it?' he whispered to her, she was closer to him then she realised, the smell of him wrapped around her; dusty mixed with a vibrant spice, his eyes bored into her travelling from her lips back to her eyes, she bit her lip slightly her breathing getting heavier as she closed the gap between their mouths.
He didn't pull away but deepened the kiss, his left hand curling around her neck whilst the right hand rested on the small of her back; her hands rested on his chiselled chest. He pulled away first resting his head on her forehead, her eyes stayed closed but a smile played across her lips 'hmm, I forgot why we broke up' she whispered rubbing her nose up and down his softly, gently he kissed her again before replying 'neither do I' she could hear the smile in his voice. They stayed like this on the porch, foreheads pressed together until Claire began to shiver, wrapping his arm around her shoulder Myrnin led her back into the house 'you owe me a dance' he said as he made his way to the packed living area. Couples dominated the floor wrapped in each other's arms; some sharing whispered conversations, others sharing kisses: Myrnin led her to the centre of the floor, pulling her into his embrace. Claire rested her head to his chest letting the lyrics soak into her: she could relate to them explicitly at this moment in time:
'All that I'm after is a life full of laughter, as long as I'm laughing with you. And I'm thinking that all that still matters is love ever after, after the life we've been through 'cos I know there's no life after you'
She felt Myrnin press a kiss into her hair; sighing she whispered into his chest, right over where his unbeating heart rested 'I love you'.