Bleeding Hearts

Fall 2008:

Peter: The worst Summer of my life ended when Claire moved out to go to College. I had hoped the distance would help, but I was wrong. We had no contact at all. I was dying on the inside, yet nobody even realised. Claire, my sweet, beautiful Claire was gone. She had moved on, so why couldn't I?

Peter watched lazily as the waiter poured sparkling white wine into the glass beside him. He nodded his thanks, but couldn't bring himself to speak.

"Pete?"

"Huh?" Peter shook his head. "I'm sorry . . ."

"Nathan was just asking about your work." Heidi smiled warmly, but there was confusion in her eyes.

"Oh." Peter started nodding. He took a nervous swig from the glass before he answered. "It's great."

The three of them were enjoying dinner at a fine Italian restaurant at Angela Petrelli's request. She, however, had decided at the last minute not to join them.

"This is a lovely meal." Heidi started the next round of small talk, hoping to avoid the increasing amount of awkward silences among them.

They were just finishing their main courses, when Peter spoke up.

"So . . . I was thinking of maybe moving out."

"Moving out?" Nathan's voice echoed around the restaurant. It was followed quickly by silence as if Peter hadn't quite thought about what he would say next. Suddenly, the monotone shrill of Nathan's cellphone broke the awkward silence.

"Nate, you promised." Heidi was clearly unimpressed.

"I know, I know. I'll just turn-" Nathan glanced at the caller display. "It's Claire."

Peter was on fire at the sound of her name. His eyes blazed.

"Well go on, answer it." Heidi commanded.

"Hello . . . Claire . . . What? Honey, slow down a minute . . . Okay. Are you sure? . . . Alright then, she's on her way."

"What's up?" Peter tried to disguise the worry in his voice.

"That was Claire. She's at the hospital."

Peter's heart skipped a beat.

"Is she okay?" Heidi asked.

"Yeah, she's fine. There was an accident at one of the college Fraternity houses and she rode in the ambulance with her friend."

"She's not hurt?" Heidi's blue eyes were filled with concern.

Nathan shot a sideways glance at Peter, before answering his wife. "No, she's fine. She just wants you to give her a ride back to her dorm."

"Me?" Heidi queried Claire's request.

"Yes."

"I could go with you." Peter offered.

"No, she only wants Heidi there. She told me not to worry. Everything's fine, Pete."

"Sure it is." Confusion wracked his brain. "How could she not want me there."

Heidi stood up and Nathan helped her into her long black coat.

"I'll walk you out." Nathan swung a protective arm around his wife as he escorted her to the door. Together they waited at the entrance for the car.

"Do you want me to come back and pick you up?"

"No. We'll get a cab. Give my love to Claire."

"I will. I didn't think I could feel more worried when you said she was in the hospital. Thank God she's alright."

Nathan stared absently at his feet. "Tell me about it."

"Maybe you could use this time to have a talk with Peter."

"What about?" Nathan played the fool.

"He seems bit depressed about something."

Nathan shrugged. "He's just missing Claire."

"I think there's more to it. Just talk to him." The car pulled up and she slid into the driver's seat.

"And say what?"

"I don't know." Heidi shrugged. "Just ask and maybe he'll open up to you." She gave him a quick wave as she drove off.

Nathan walked back into the restaurant. Peter barely looked at his brother as he sat down.

"You want to move out?"

"I need to." Peter's eyes pleaded with his brother not to ask too many questions.

"Is everything alright, Pete?"

Peter pushed a look of innocence across his handsome face. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play coy with me, Peter . . . You have been acting a little strange lately, even for you."

"I just need my own space again, okay. I . . . I'm sick of always being in the middle . . . you, Heidi, the boys."

"Okay . . ." Nathan held up a hand. "Okay, I didn't realise you living with us was such a problem. You used to love it."

"Well, that was before . . . her." Peter told himself. "Things have changed now, I can look after myself. I'm fully in control of . . . Everything . . ."

"Of course. Living with us was never intended to be permanent." Nathan put a hand on his younger brothers shoulder. "You know, if there was anything you needed to talk about . . . I'd be here for you. You know that, right?"

"Sure, Nate. Whatever." Peter brushed him off. "The only person I need right now is the one person who won't talk to me. How could you possible understand that?" Peter asked silently as he forced yet another smile onto his face.

Claire: The anger that burned in my soul raged for weeks. I avoided Peter as much as I could. As the Summer drew to an end, the hatred gave way to numbness. I was still so hurt, it was like I couldn't feel anything, anymore. College changed all that. At last, I had something to keep my mind off Peter.

"C'mon Claire . . . we're going to be late." Claire's college roommate, Abby, begged.

"I'm coming." Claire stumbled behind her friend, secretly wishing she'd never agreed to come. "Sorry," she said breathlessly. "Its these shoes."

"Nonsense, they're perfect."

"Yeah, that's because they're yours." Claire was walking awkwardly again.

"You look great. I look great. This is soooooooo great," Abby was practically squealing with excitement.

Claire gave Abby a sideways glance and reminded herself why she was even there at all. She'd been at Columbia for nearly ten weeks now and the only person she'd made friends with was Abby. Well, if you could call it a friendship. Abby was loud and self assured, but seemed to love Claire in spite of their obvious differences. Claire found college refreshing. Finally, she was away from stifling repressiveness that was the Petrelli Mansion. Away from the concerned glances and hushed tones. Away from her old life. Away from Peter.

Claire took a deep breath, sucking in the cool air of the October night. She glanced down at her costume and felt a wave of regret wash over her.

"Playboy bunnies? You want to dress up as Playboy bunnies?" Claire was astounded.

Abby shrugged and flipped a blonde curl behind her ear. "Sure, why not? They boys will love it."

Claire shook her head and took a sip of her coffee. "Uh uh, there's no way you're getting me into that costume."

"But its Halloween you have to dress up!"

"I'll dress up . . . just not in that thing . . ."

"So, that means you're coming right?"

Claire sighed. "Yeah, I'm coming."

Claire pulled uncomfortably on her costume as she walked and realised she was a few shots away from actually being able to pull off a Playboy Bunny costume. "I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb," she thought to herself.

A few minutes later they approached the Delta Sigma Phi house. "Ladies . . ." A skinny dark haired young man greeted them, beer in hand. "Welcome, I'm Rob the Pirate and this here is Ryan the Mad Lumberjack." He pointed to a tall robust guy welding a fake axe.

Claire groaned inwardly and fantasised a little about it being real. Her thoughts were cut short as Abby introduced them and then pulled her inside. Claire cringed as she entered the room. Slowly, she dared to take a peek. Laughter caught in her throat as she caught sight of at least fifteen 'Playboy Bunnies'. "At last . . . I really do fit in" she smirked. She followed Abby to the kitchen relishing the glances and rolled eyes.

Minutes turned to hours and Claire found herself surprisingly at ease with her surroundings. A gap between her 'Then and Now' phase had been bridged. She danced, and she laughed as Abby introduced her to more people than she could remember. She flirted and gossiped with anyone and everyone. Claire had to hand it to Abby, she was now in a relaxed and confident mood.

Sometime near midnight they became separated. Claire wandered around the lower floor of the house, but Abby was nowhere to be found. "Great . . ." she muttered.

Suddenly, a large guy wearing a firemans uniform locked eyes on her and strode right towards her. "Hey Baby . . ." he paused to burp. "Wanna dance?"

"Not tonight." Claire turned to walk away, but he caught her by the arm.

"Well, I'm on fire and I ain't taking no for an answer."

She felt him pull her closer and she froze, not wanting to make a scene. "Where the Hell is Abby?"

"Hey Mike . . . The girl's with me." A husky voice arrived from out of nowhere and a warm hand gripped hers.

"Alright, Richardson, but this is the last one."

Claire turned in time to see Mike hold up his hands as he walked away. "Thanks." She then found herself looking into two pale blue eyes. He was wearing a silk bathrobe.

"No problem." He was still holding her hand. "Lets get some air."

"Okay." She nodded and let him pull her from the room.

She studied him as he lead her from the room. He was at least six foot, with trimmed blonde hair. She could see the outline of his arm muscles through the patterned silk that covered his arms.

"I've been saving girls from him all night." They stood alone on a small deck outside the house. Music floated out to where they were standing. Claire floated away to her own world as she recognised the lament of Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love. It was a song she'd grown to love and hate over the past summer. She listened to the lyrics she knew by heart and cursed her naivety. The soft fingers that caressed hers forced her back into the moment.

Blue Eyes released her hand. "Thanks." She smiled. "Frat party and you'd think I'd know what to expect!"

"Yeah." He gave her a sideways glance. "All the freshmen girls are 'PlayBoy Bunnies' their first Halloween . . ."

Claire cringed. "It is that obvious?" she cried.

"Pretty much."

Claire felt her cheeks blossom. "Not exactly my idea of a great costume."

"Oh, why?" Blue Eyes was clearly checking her out. "So what is?

Claire had a sudden vision of herself a superhero costume. The whisper of events gone by and her heart filled with guilt. She could only shrug in reply.

"You look like more of a 'Naughty Nurse' to me."

Claire returned again the present when a couple, who couldn't keep their hands off each other, exited onto the balcony though a nearby door. "Very funny." She stepped down off the balcony and headed towards a small park bench that sat alone in the garden. "Truthfully, this costume rides up like a-"

A tremendous crack split the air. Time slowed down as Claire spun around in time to see the small balcony collapsing into a heap. Taking Blue Eyes and the couple with it. Claire stood still, stuck to the spot as it dawned on her how close she had come to becoming part of the carnage in front of her. The girl started screaming at the top of her lungs. The ear splitting sound was enough to force her into action.

She moved to the girl first. Claire did a visual check of her injuries. A small graze to the knee was all she could find. People started piling out of the house.

"Oh my God."

"Call 911."

The voices were high and every syllable was stressed. Claire ignored them and moved on. Next to the girl, the boy lay writhing in pain.

"My leg, my leg," he muttered over and over again. A fracture. He was conscious and alert.

Claire grabbed the girl. "Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop screaming, so we can help him."

The girl looked at Claire strangely for a second, before nodding slowly as small sobs still wracking her body.

"Take your jacket off." Claire commanded one of the shocked bystanders. "NOW!"

He did as he was told. Claire laid the jacket over the injured boy. "Keep him warm until help arrives."

"Blue Eyes?" Claire searched the surrounding chaos with her eyes. He was lying amongst a tangle of rubble. He was not moving. Others were starting to crowd around him now.

"No," she cried out as she stumbled towards them. "No. Don't move him!"

She reached his side a few seconds later. She grabbed his hand. It was warm like she remembered. A small cut was oozing above his eye. His eyelids fluttered.

"Hey . . ." Claire began.

"Wh . . . what happened?" Blue Eyes slurred his speech.

"You had a bit of a fall."

"Uh . . ." He wriggle slightly.

"Stay still. The paramedics are on their way."

"What's your name?"

"I knew you'd make a great naughty nurse," he coughed, a small speck of blood appeared on his lip.

Claire tried to smile reassuringly and was surprised to feel tears coming to her eyes. "What's your name?"

"Aaron." His eyelids fluttered again and he lost consciousness.

"I'm Claire."

A/N: I'm back!! Please read and review. I've been aching for months to add to this story and now I finally have. More to follow soon. Thanks for reading. Pip :)

In the Next Chapter of Volume Three: The Gathering Storm. A Christmas party at the Petrelli Mansion causes the friction between Peter and Claire to intensify.