Author's Note: Get used to Claire's P.O.V., because it will stay that way for the next few chapters. Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Comments are appreciated. Also, don't give up on Claichen or Glaire or whatever they're called now. I have faith that the writers at Heroes aren't that stupid. No guarantees though...:p

********Five years ago********

When I saw him holding that picture of Gretchen, I knew the jig was up. I had the urge to run out of the apartment, maybe bust out a window and make my escape screaming at the top of my lungs. But I just stood there in the doorway to my room. He turned around slowly, with a look on his face that showed he was debating with himself about what to say. I swallowed, but my mouth was dry.

"Claire." He said slowly. I shouldn't have left that picture laying on my dresser, in fact when I laid it there the night before the thought flashed to my head, but I ignored it. I didn't think that he would walk in the room looking for something, see the picture, and read the words scrawled on the back that I'd read so many times before.

Claire,

I'll always keep you in my heart. What we had was so special, so perfect, I would rather die than forget you.

I love you always,

Gretchen Berg

"Dad, it's not what you..." I couldn't finish the words. I just didn't want to say them. He sighed, and handed the picture to me as he walked out of the room.

"Just don't tell your mother." I blinked, in utter shock at his reaction.

"You're not gonna say anything?" I sputtered.

"What is there to say? She's not in your life anymore, and it was college. I expected you to experiment." He spoke as if the words he was saying were sour tasting. My eyes welled up, even though I willed them not to.

"She wasn't an experiment." I muttered to myself, watching as he walked to his bedroom and closed the door. He closed it quietly, not slamming it like any other father would have done at that moment, and that made it worse. He wasn't reacting. He was shutting down.

I looked down at the picture. It was a picture taken by me on our freshman year, a couple weeks after we'd first started dating. Gretchen's face was innocent and unassuming, eating her slice of apple while she smiled big at the camera. I winced as the thought of the last time we'd made love flashed through my mind. It was tears mixed with kisses, hands roaming each others' bodies so we could memorize every curve and dip in our skin. It wasn't about the sexual gratification at that moment, it was us clinging onto each other as our lives were ripping us in different directions. We'd both decided that after graduation we'd make a clean break--that way it didn't hurt as bad. It wasn't a very good plan, but what else were we going to do? Gretchen had dreams and aspirations, and I was just going to get in the way. She didn't want to hear that, but we both knew it was true. What was I going to do with my degree anyway? I was just getting one because it was the "normal" thing to do. Freaks like me are made to take out other freaks who are dangerous. Bad guys who would eat people like Gretchen alive. I was going to be fighting for her. At least that's how I justified it. I didn't know I was going to feel so alone without her.

When I first met Cassie, she was about to melt someone's face off.

"Hey!" I screamed from the back exit of the club. I had seen them rush out of the back door earlier, and followed them. She whipped her head around, and let go of the horrified man's collar.

"You just made a really bad choice, bitch." She hissed, walking toward me with hands covered in some kind of goo. She didn't get far. I tazed the shit out of her. She fell to the ground spasming and I ran to the man nearly in shock by the dumpsters.

"Get out of here, fast!" I shouted in his face. He didn't need much convincing. He ran as fast as his legs could take him out of the alleyway.

When I took her to my father he made arrangements with the few connections he still had and tied her up as we waited for Rene and a few others that made up the ramshackle beginnings of the new Company. I sat there in the living room of the apartment, staring as I watched her smoke a cigarette I'd given her.

"So what's your deal." She said abruptly, breaking the silence.

"Why were you going to do that to that guy?" I asked her. She laughed, dropping the half smoked cigarette onto my dad's wooden floors. She both watched as the cigarette rolled a few inches and laid smoldering on the floor.

"He was harassing me. I told him to fuck off, but he followed me out the door." She tensed her jaw and looked me dead in the eye. "And now I'm here, tied up because nobody's allowed to use their powers when they want to anymore." She squinted her eyes at me accusingly. I shrugged.

"You put people in danger, and we'll have to contain you. You know we can't risk being exposed." I replied cooly. I'd said it enough times by now I nearly believed it.

"We? What's your ability?" She said surprised. I smiled a tight smile and took her cigarette off the ground and took the still lit ember and ground it into the flesh of my hand. She gasped, not expecting me to do that, and watched amazed as the red blistered flesh of my palm turned pink and faded as if nothing had touched it.

"Well that's handy." She muttered, amazed. I scuffed and tossed the cigarette in the trash.

"Whatever." I replied as I sat down again. She continued looking at me, and eventually I got tired of ignoring it.

"What?" I spat at her. She smiled.

"What was her name?" She said, and that cocky little smile really started to piss me off.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I tried to remain tough, but my voice was a little too high pitched to be intimidating.

"Ah... I see. Little secret love affair." She laughed to herself, cruelly. I didn't want her words to get under my skin, but they did.

"You don't know what you're talking about." I insisted, though I knew she could see right through me. She snorted, and rolled her head back so she could look at the ceiling.

"Cute girl like you, you could get anyone you wanted." She said to herself, and I felt the heat come to my face as I really looked at her for the first time. She had chilling blue eyes, delicate features, and long black hair. She was beautiful, I slowly admitted to myself. She looked back at me curiously, cocking an eyebrow.

"You know you could let me out of this chair. I promise I'll be good." I shook myself out of my daze and stood up.

"I'm not that easy to fool." I said to her flippantly. "Let me know if you need anything. They'll be here soon. Don't try any sneaky shit." I walked away quickly, but I could still hear her laughing to herself when I got to my room. I missed Gretchen. It was the only real pain I could feel anymore.