Author's Note: Ah yes, Friday again so here I am with another chapter. I hope you like this chapter as much as I do and as much as you've enjoyed the previous parts. I don't have much to say this week so I'll just let you get to the story!
Summary:Peter and Abby start heading back to New York with some help.
Spark
Chapter Three
Peter sat in the car, waiting for Abby to say goodbye to Sam. They'd stayed with him for a few weeks while Peter was waiting to get in contact with someone he was sure could help them and he'd finally gotten in contact with that person the day before.
Originally Abby had told him that she was going to get him back to New York and then leave him, sure he'd be able to protect himself, before moving on herself. Peter had warned her that Sylar would be looking for her now and he'd rather they stay together, rather her come to New York with him so they could look out for each other, than have her out on her own. At first she'd brushed the suggestion off, saying she could look after herself, that she was used to moving around and lying low, but he'd finally convinced her to stay with him, for at least a little while. He was going to try his hardest to turn that little while into something longer.
It looked as though Abby was having a hard time saying goodbye to Sam. He could understand her reluctance to leave him. Sylar was out to get her and Sam was the one person she cared about, it was obvious she was worried Sylar would get to him and it would be her fault. Peter sighed and turned his head away from them as they hugged again, giving them their space. A voice behind him started chuckling.
"Aren't you jealous? The old guys honing in on your girl." The man laughed and Peter rolled his eyes, turning around to face him.
"Shut up." He started to turn back away from him before he snapped back around. "And she's not my girl." The man laughed again and shook his head.
"Okay, you look like your talkin to yourself. I hope you're tellin me the truth bout the invisible man 'cause otherwise you're just crazy." Peter turned around, seeing Abby standing at the door of the car, her arms folded across her chest, an eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face. Peter laughed nervously.
"He's real." He heard Claude laughing from the back seat and reached back to punch him. This just made Abby chuckle. She walked around to the other side of the car and got behind the wheel.
"Okay, well buckle up; we're bout to take off for the airport." She grinned at him, caused a spark between her fingers, hotwired the car (a different one to before, they'd abandoned that one and took another one), and took off, dust and dirt flicking up behind them. Peter groaned and grabbed onto the car door as she took off like she had when they'd been fleeing from Sylar. Abby obviously enjoyed doing this and cheered in delight, and Peter could hear Claude in the backseat whooping his own delight. Peter was no where near as excited as the other two.
"Whoa there Pete, seems you've found yourself a livewire. I like this one better than that other one." Peter grunted angrily.
"The other one's name is Simone and shut up Claude." Abby glanced at him, an eyebrow raised high on her head.
"Okay, I am definitely missin somethin here, ain't I?" Peter gave Abby a placating smile.
"No, not really. Claude's just being an ass." Abby chuckled and nodded.
"I think I like him if he managed to get you to swear like that. I've never spent this much time with someone who doesn't swear." Abby grinned and Peter rolled his eyes. Claude guffawed in the back seat, leaning forward to slap Peter on the back. Peter jerked with the motion making Abby glance at him again.
"I really like this one." Peter groaned again and was ready to turn around to snap at Claude again when Claude reached past him, extending a now visible arm to Abby. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, ma'am." Abby stared at the man who had just suddenly appeared in the back seat through the mirror, a smile on her face.
"Absolutely cool. Pleasure to meet you too, Claude." She reached a free hand over to him and shook his hand. Claude smiled at her and leant back in his seat, crossing his arms across his chest. Peter turned around to face Claude, a look of shock on his face.
"You just became visible. You never become visible." Claude chuckled and shook his head.
"You're right, I don't. But before you get your panties in an even bigger bunch I only became visible to her, no one else can see me. I figured it was only polite to show myself to the lady." Abby grinned at him through the mirror, earning her another smile from Claude. Peter shook his head, still shocked.
"Okay, who are you and what did you do with Claude?" Claude guffawed again and Abby chuckled, shaking her head. Peter allowed himself a small smile, seeing the two smile and laugh with each other, no matter that they were pretty much laughing at him. It was good seeing this side to these two very private and guarded people.
"Give him a break, Petrelli. Why don't you get some sleep? Seems to me like that's the thing you love doin while ridin around with me." Abby grinned wider and Peter rolled his eyes. When they'd dumped the last car and taken another one they'd driven to the next town, a couple of hours away from Sam's, to throw anyone looking for them off their trail. On the way to the next town Peter had fallen asleep again causing Abby to tease him about it any chance she got.
"Oh ha, ha. Very funny Abby." Abby shrugged, the grin not leaving her face. She looked in the mirror, locking eyes with Claude again.
"Well I thought so." This earned yet another barking laugh from the invisible man. Peter groaned and slid down in his seat, knowing he was going to be in for a hard time with these two. He should have known that this would happen when getting two very guarded people together.
They got to the airport quickly and headed inside. Abby took out fake ids for herself and Peter so they could board the plane without anyone knowing who they really were while Claude stayed invisible. Abby had been the one to get the fake id's, she'd gone out one day and returned that night with a bunch of fake id's for both herself and Peter, and Peter didn't want to ask exactly where she'd gotten them, afraid of the answer. His id declared that he was Charlie Enmore from South Carolina while hers said she was his wife, Sara. To ward off suspicion Abby held his hand as they walked through the airport and Peter wondered why his stomach flipped while doing so.
Claude stayed with them at all times, watching them carefully and looking around for anyone who looked suspicious. They pretended to look carefree, knowing it would look suspicious if they were constantly checking their surroundings, knowing it was easier for Claude to do so with ease. As they sat waiting for their plane to get there Peter tried his hardest to pay attention to a paper he bought, hoping to look carefree, while Abby rested her head on his shoulder, discreetly looking around their surroundings, trying to play it off as boredom. Pretty soon she did get bored and sat up and away from him, much to his confused displeasure, and started looking for other things to do.
"Hey, C, think you could provide a little entertainment here?" It was less suspicious to refer to Claude as C than to talk to someone no one else could see. Peter rolled his eyes as he heard Claude chuckle in delight.
"I think I could do that." He said, only for their ears to hear. Abby smiled and watched him as he stuck his leg out causing a man to walk past to fall. Abby chuckled while Peter shook his head.
"Do you think you could be any more obvious? Are you trying to draw attention to us?" Peter snapped at both of them. Abby frowned and shrugged.
"Sorry, Charlie. Is my boredom a nuisance to you?" Peter sighed, hearing the annoyance in her voice. He put his paper down and reached out to put his hand on top of hers.
"I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry. I'm just a little... on edge." She smiled a small smile for him before taking her hand out from underneath his, uncomfortable with the gesture. She was fine when the gesture was fake, a show for other people who might be watching them, but when it was real she couldn't deal with it. Peter sighed at her skittishness and moved his hands back into his lap.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to, well, you know." Peter nodded, knowing she was trying. Claude snorted.
"He's just not used to being in hiding. He's not as comfortable with it as we are." And it was true, Claude and Abby were used to hiding and laying low, Peter wasn't. Abby frowned a little before reaching out and taking his hand, threading her fingers with his.
"Don't freak out. When in doubt, breathe." She gave him a small smile, this one more sincere than the last, and gave his hand a squeeze. Peter smiled at her action and slid his free arm around the back of her chair, reaching around her back and pulling her closer to him.
"Thanks. I needed that advice." He leant down and placed a kiss to the top of her head. A little old lady sitting across from them smiled warmly at the display and Peter gave her a smile in response. Abby chuckled and pulled away from him but kept their hands entwined.
"You're just tryin to feel me up. I'm on to you, mister." Peter couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Okay, you got me there." She grinned at him and reached over to grab hold of his discarded newspaper, laying it on her lap and reading it. Peter smiled at her before looking up. He caught Claude's eyes, seeing the invisible man smirking at him. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, knowing what the older man was thinking without even needing to use Matt's ability.
A little while later their flight was called and they boarded the plane. Abby and Peter took their seats and Claude sat in an empty seat next to them. He complained loudly when he realised he was in the aisle seat, saying that even though he was invisible it didn't change the fact that the carts still bumped into him while passing. Peter, annoyed with the complaining only he and Abby could hear, switched seats with him. Claude happily moved to sit between them, immediately starting to kick the chair in front of him, making Abby laugh discreetly when the person sitting in it turned around to complain but found no one sitting there. Peter rolled his eyes at the display but smiled nonetheless.
Abby and Claude were really hitting it off, as evidenced by the fact that Claude was letting her see him. Of course, it made sense that the two would get along; they were, after all, both solitary beings. They were both used to living alone, running and hiding. Both of them distrusted people and both obviously believed no one cared about them. Peter was sure that this last fact would change, sure that they'd count each other in the short lists of people they trusted and cared about, he could already see it happening. Peter smiled to himself at that and settled in for the flight to New York. He'd been through a lot in the past few weeks and he was glad to finally be heading home.
Additional Author's Note: Okay, I'm aware that Claude is a little out of character but not really. I just saw Company Man last week and without even meaning to I kind of made him a bit like that. I hadn't even seen that ep when I wrote this so, I might be psychic (ooh, maybe I'm a Hero and that's my ability! lol). Anyway, if it bothers you I suppose you could pretend that something happened to Claude in the time he was away from Peter and he's trying to open himself up a bit. I mean you can't be weary of people forever, can you? Again, reviews would be much appreciated, they make me feel good. Anywho, see you next week… if you come back. :)