Chapter 16:

I don't own anything, once again

Winner of the oneshot thing: jjrw1998 - review with the scenario/pairing you desire, and I'll write it for you.

Claire's POV:

What have I done?

I…somehow, inbetween arguing with Myrnin that he's done nothing for my survival in Morganville, and his insisting that I would be dead without his interference, I seem to have given in to the same feelings I succumbed to in the graveyard, because my lips were on his, his arms around me, and things felt very, very right. They felt too right; his arms, though his grip was slightly too tight due to his anger, felt much more natural to my body, save for their lack of warmth, and I was certain that I wouldn't have stopped if we hadn't been interrupted.

That's wrong, isn't it? I'm in a relationship with someone who is apparently my soul mate, and now I'm at work, snogging my boss senseless—a vampire boss, no less, one who looked as though he would have destroyed me easier than he did those books he flung into the far wall. And none of that stopped me kissing him. I wanted him to continue, to go further, for the passion to flare its flame longer…and we would have done, if Oliver hadn't entered. It's strange to consider Oliver your saving grace, but in this situation, he is.

It takes a few seconds between his arrival and the action, yet I soon find myself springing away from Myrnin, avoiding eye contact with either vampire. As I move, I realise that there are sensitive spots on my arms, where Myrnin has grabbed me, and I just know that they're going to bruise: just great, isn't it? My actions aren't even able to be confined to memory; until the bruises fade, I most certainly can't even push it out of my mind.

"Either you're here to try and aid me in getting Amelie to build me a new, higher-class laboratory on the other side of town because you want to stink this one out to a new level, or you have a message for us; which one is it, Oliver?" Myrnin is far more brazen than I would expect him to be, given what we were doing, and he is openly mocking Oliver…something which is never a good idea.

I hear Oliver growl and am immediately glad that I'm on the opposite side of the laboratory, because he sounds angry. To try and avoid the attention being on me, I try and pretend that I'm reading one of the pieces of paper on the table in front of me, but it's pointless; they both know I'm here, and my cheeks are flushed so red that it's almost making my vision red, when I look at the bottom of the piece of paper.

"Amelie wanted to see how your, ah, experiment is getting along," is what Oliver says in response, his voice taking on a strange twist when he says 'experiment', and I risk a peek in his direction to see that he's smiling, it being bitter and twisted.

"You're saying that our dear Founder took time out from attending to Sam, in order to meet and speak with you?" Myrnin sounds incredulous, yet I know that he's being sarcastic. "I must certainly ensure that she has her priorities in order in the future, for certain."

Oliver merely holds up his phone, and as he does, his body turns to almost be facing me; it's at this point that I decide it's more prudent to pretend to be reading this page most studiously, ensuring that my eyes move as I read.

"She rang me, not that it particularly makes a difference, does it?" Oliver replies, before continuing, "and I believe that she shall not be particularly pleased to learn of your…lack of progress shall we call it. Unless, of course, your theory with regards to whatever you are supposed to be doing involves engaging in romantic liaisons, obviously."

I half expect Myrnin to punch him, but he doesn't; all he does is go very, very quiet, and if I was looking, I bet he would be giving Oliver one of his death stares. "Get. Out," he articulates very clearly when the silence is almost getting too much for me. "If Amelie desires to speak with me, or to discuss anything that has…happened, she can contact me herself, do you understand? If you ever set foot in my laboratory again, I will have you hanged." This is the threatening Myrnin I once knew, and still see glimmers of every now and then, and if this was being directed at me, I would be in pieces right now.

Thankfully, it isn't, and I turn and focus my attention on the two vampires, noticing their 'stare-down' which lasts another five seconds. Then, Oliver's gaze turns to focus on me, his eyes locking into mine for just a second or two—but it's enough to make me shudder. Something in his eyes seems broken, as though he's lost whatever it was that was keeping him bound together (I want to say Amelie…but Oliver wouldn't be dependent on a woman whom he tried to kill…I'm sure) and that could make him very dangerous indeed.

And then he's gone, turning on his heel and walking through the portal without a word, leaving the laboratory in silence. It's only then do I realise that I relished his company, because then I wouldn't have to have the inevitable conversation that shall now come up between Myrnin and myself: why we kissed originally, and why I just kissed him again now, when I spent however long telling him that he's a bad man and that I only value him as a friend. Way to go Claire, sending mixed signals as clear as ditchwater!

"Don't," I mutter before Myrnin even has chance to open his mouth; I know what he'll say, so why let him say it? "I don't want to talk about it, and you can make me stay and talk, but I won't. So let me go home and sleep, and work things out with Michael and Shane—my boyfriend—and then we can work on Sam's blood." I don't leave room for him to argue; my emphasis of the word 'boyfriend' is deliberate, and I notice Myrnin wincing slightly as I speak.

Surprisingly, he stands aside to allow me through the portal without one word of protest. Only when I'm through, standing in the middle of the Glass House living room, and about to shut the door, do I hear him say, "you'll be back, Claire, and soon; I know you will. We're too alike, you see."

I pretend not to hear him.

Now it's time to sort out the rest of my life, and somehow conceal that I've kissed Myrnin again…which may be an issue.

~x~

I walk through the portal, back into the Glass House, and think: just where will everyone be? It's about midday, according to my phone, so Michael should be inside, as should Shane because he doesn't work on Mondays; I'm not sure about Eve, since things have been going on so she may be home – maybe not, though.

I most certainly don't expect to see the three of them waiting for me on the sofa in the living room, looking like I'm turning up to death by firing squad.

As I make my presence more apparent, the three of them turn to face me, nobody's face looking as though they may feel a little happiness at the fact I haven't perished along the way between the Founder's ball and now. This is just great, truly.

"Hi!" I say, wincing at the tone of my voice; it's far too high-pitched and happy. All it does is make it sound as though I'm trying to hide something – which I am, though they don't need to know that – and it seems to almost confirm something that the three of them are thinking; I see a glance being passed between them, and understand that I'm no longer part of knowing what's going on. No, now it's me on trial, not the usual idiot like Monica or a vampire, and I'm blocked out.

"Are you alright?" Michael asks, though it's a more perfunctory question than one that indicates he particularly cares.

"Fine, I was just tired and we've – I've – finished what needs doing for now, so until Amelie sends a summons, I'm free," I say, changing we to I in an attempt to alleviate my conscience; if I mention we, I remember what I just did with Myrnin again, and that isn't something that ought to be blurted out between the four of us. This is especially true given what Michael knows – and has probably passed on – and it certainly wouldn't make me look any better, given how far I would have probably taken things with Myrnin.

"So you finally decided to come home," Shane shoots in my direction, and I jerk backwards from the venom in his voice, fearful almost that it could come out and attack me. He's angry with me; I guess I knew that, but it's different to see it in person. We've never had a 'proper' argument before – they've always only been about things to do with the television, or when pushing it, my working for Amelie and Myrnin – and I guess it's scary for me to think that this could be the first time we truly see the other for what they are; people say that the only time you can understand love is in an argument, apparently…and what the argument's about. Something tells me that this could be Shane & Claire coming unstuck.

"Yes, I just said that the work's finished," I reply, my voice tired as I take a step closer to the stairs – and away from the sofa. Unfortunately, something in all six eyes I look into makes me take that step closer to them again – they're not letting me go just yet. "And now I'm home to shower and go to bed, because truly, I'm knackered."

"Didn't sleep enough in Myrnin's bed earlier, then?" Shane's knock-back comes instantly, and I get the feeling that he's been waiting to say it.

Just in this moment, my fatigue and embarrassment about my actions fade, and in their place comes anger: anger that he can speak to me like this when, at that time, I'd done nothing wrong. It's wrong to have to say "at that time"," but it's true; yesterday daytime, I was (almost) completely innocent. He has no right to try and make me out to be some cheating whore, just because I happened to need some sleep and Myrnin's bed was the only place I could get it; I mean, I've stayed there before – not by choice, but still – and nothing's happened.

"Don't you dare!" I hiss, overreacting but not caring. "I didn't do anything at the lab, Shane, and I hate that you don't trust me enough to believe that! I was knackered after spending the entire night in the graveyard – something which is creepy, believe me – and there is absolutely no way that I did anything! I swear!"

Shane's standing up now, mere metres from me, and I can almost feel the rage coming off him. Yet when he speaks, it's a cool, low tone, one that almost reminds me of Amelie. "No, you're right," he surprises me by saying; I should have realised that this would lead to something worse. "You didn't do anything then. You waited until you were in the graveyard again, with many, many witnesses, in order to snog him senseless. Did you want to go to bed with him, Claire, after that? Do you wish that I didn't exist, so that you didn't have to come home from the lab, so you could continue to be a fangbanger the—"

I cut him off, reaching across and slapping him – only for the last bit, for his accusations of me being a fangbanger, given that the rest of it is true – before I stand there, looking at him in horror. Slowly, I change my gaze to Michael, focusing on him, but he doesn't look away under the intensity of my stare; he merely stares back.

"You told him," I whisper, knowing the horror has seeped into my voice. "You…you…you didn't even know what had gone on, and you told him."

Michael shakes his head. "I know that you kissed him, and that you worked with him to bring Sam back from the dead. Why would you do something like that?"

It's in this moment, with the agony in Michael's voice, that I realise he's not only mad about me betraying Shane, but also because I wouldn't explain to him how Sam's back – how I still can't explain that. He told Shane because he was angered about not understanding how Sam could have returned to life – not that he really left, to be honest – and he wanted to hurt me as badly as he could manage.

"You don't understand, do you?" I end up saying to Michael, dropping my bag on the floor as all the energy I had just saps out of me. "I can't tell you. It's worth more than my life; do you think Amelie would be happy if she knew that you had found out how he came back before she did?"

"He's my grandfather!" Michael snaps, vampire-scary with the fangs and all. It doesn't scare me; Myrnin's done it enough times for me to be far too blasé about this.

"He's closer to Amelie than to you, and you know that; who was it he tried to reach all those years? It wasn't you, was it?" I find myself saying, deliberately hurting him and not caring. "Amelie gets to know first; when you're the Founder, give me a call and I'll get you top priority tickets – until then, you're on the lower rings, pal. And more than that, Myrnin had just saved me; I was confused and I thought…I was unsure what I was doing, and I ended up kissing Myrnin. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to, and if I could take it back, I would.

"It was a mistake, and it wasn't ever planned; I thought my friends would understand that. I guess I was wrong." With this, I turn and stalk towards the stairs, planning on ignoring the calls from my friends for me to go back, that they understand and accept what I did, though they don't like it.

There are no such calls. My so-called friends don't care. They don't want me.

I've never felt so alone.

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