The weeks that passed lulled into the monotonous daily routine of high school life. Claire woke up, went to class, came home, did her homework, and went to sleep. On the weekends, she'd go out to lunch with the girls or spend the day with her mother cleaning the house or watching television with her father. Aside from that, Claire's days went by uneventfully. She was able to talk Gwen into changing the events for the year without any trouble and that lent to a smoother progression of the days. August cooled into September and then September into October. The summer heat faded away and a cool autumn chill took its place. Claire was more than pleased, seeing as how she was finally able to wear her sweatshirts again. Her father brought her a new sweatshirt from every business trip he went on and her newest addition was a Harvard sweatshirt, the interior still soft and new.

"Claire, breakfast is ready!" Diana called up the stairs, spatula in hand.

"Coming!"

Claire pulled on the hoodie and tied her hair up into a bun, adjusting her bangs to make sure none of it was sticking up weirdly. She pulled on her sneakers, grabbed her backpack, and headed down the stairs. She was about to head into the dining room when she spotted Jamie's familiar purple hair heading the same way. Claire scowled and she looked to her mother for an explanation. Diana only shrugged with an innocent smile. Claire could only sigh and take her seat, Jamie sitting down across from her. The empty seat belonging to her father became a common occurrence, enough for Claire not to be bothered to ask about it anymore. He was gone on another business trip, promising only to be gone for a week and to return with a new sweatshirt for Claire to add to her collection. Claire could see the toll her father's repeated absence took on her mother, so she chose to stop asking about the empty spot at the table.

"Is your mom busy again?" Claire looked to Jamie who simply nodded his head in response. Claire left it at that. She didn't want to make plain conversation just to fill the silence, especially with him. She did, however, feel a twinge of empathy for him. She obviously knew how it felt to have an absent parent, but at least she had her mother still at home. Mariel was all Jamie had, so perhaps that was why Diana was always inviting Jamie over.

"You two have that Senior Lock In tomorrow, right?" Diana asked as she placed some pancakes on Jamie's plate. Both Claire and Jamie nodded silently, their eyes trained on the warm pancakes. "That sounds like a lot of fun. How does that even work?"

"They throw all of the seniors into the gym for the night and lock the doors. Then they pray for the best." Jamie poured some syrup onto his pancakes.

"Then they pray no one gets pregnant," Claire added.

"Claire, don't be crude!" Regardless of her chastising, Diana laughed and checked the watch on her wrist. "You two better hurry up and eat. You'll be late if you take too long."

They quickly finished up their breakfasts and thanked Diana for the meal before heading out to the driveway. Jamie held up a set of keys in his hand and turned to Claire with determination in his icy eyes.

"I'm driving."

"Like hell, you are. If you drive, we're definitely gonna be late."

"With you driving, there's no guarantee that we'll make it there at all."

"Hey, I was in one accident and it wasn't even my fault!"

"Still a mark on your record, short stack."

"Ugh, fine, whatever, Just hurry the hell up."

Claire waved her hand at him in frustration, beckoning him to hurry up as she headed next door to Jamie's driveway. The car he shared with his mother rather suited him. It was a minivan, safe and secure with nothing exciting about it. Mariel used it to carpool people for church and, when she didn't need it, she carpooled herself and let Jamie use the car. Claire hopped into the passenger seat and set her backpack at her feet before buckling her seatbelt. She felt the engine rumble to life as Jamie turned the key and she decided to focus on the passing scenery as Jamie drove, their small town passing by. The ride was silent, Jamie not even bothering to turn on the radio. When they finally parked in the school's lot, the warning bell was already ringing.

"I told you, you drive too slow!" Claire huffed and grabbed her backpack, then stepped out of the van and didn't wait up for Jamie as she headed into the school. Claire gave a wave and a smile to the attendance window lady, who smiled and waved in return. Claire had to run to her class, but she made it on time with seconds to spare. She wasn't about to let her perfect attendance record be tarnished just because of Jamie's overly-safe driving.

The morning classes passed by quickly and without event. Soon enough it was lunch time and Claire made her way to the computer lab just as she always did. However, when she pushed open the heavy door Ann, Elli, and Jill were nowhere to be found. Claire, assuming they were just running late, took her seat at their table and pulled out her lunch. She cracked open her tupperware of various fruit and popped a grape into her mouth. Just as she bit down and the juice exploded in her mouth, the sound of the door opening caused Claire to turn and look. She was expecting Ann's fiery red hair or Elli's soft brown, but instead she saw platinum blond. Her lips turned to a scowl as she recognized the hair's owner.

"What do you want, Skye?"

"Oh, Claire." Skye looked to Claire with green eyes sparkling with something Claire couldn't quite name. His expression was unreadable, too. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Not long enough. Answer my question."

"I wanted to talk, is all!"

"I don't want to talk to you." Claire narrowed her eyes at him, then turned and began to pack up her belongings, her appetite completely spoiled by Skye's presence and her stomach feeling icy and cold and empty. "Either you leave or I do."

"Claire, would you please just-"

"Enough." Claire looked up, meeting his emerald eyes with her own sapphires. For a moment, she wanted to forgive him. The turmoils of their relationship during their Junior year seemed to fizzle to nothing and she wanted nothing more than to walk over to him and let his arms envelope her like they used to. She stopped herself before she could let her thoughts move any further. She tore her gaze away and shredded the feeling of forgiveness in her heart. She shoved her lunch back into her backpack and headed for the door, pushing past Skye roughly and leaving the room. Her eyes brimmed with tears she was desperately fighting to hold back. Claire hurried herself down the hall, begging for her feet to carry her away faster. She kept her head down and avoided eye contact with anyone else in the hall. She could hear Skye yelling after her, pleading for her to stop and listen to what he had to say. Claire ignored it, his begging falling on deaf ears. She turned a sharp corner and immediately bumped into the one person she didn't want to see her in such a state.

"Watch where you're walking, short stack." Jamie looked down on Claire from his superior height and crossed his arms over her chest. Claire kept her head down, eyes trained on the floor, and Jamie scoffed. "Didn't you hear me? Surely you aren't ignoring me." His voiced trailed off near the end as Claire finally raised her head and narrowed her wet eyes at Jamie, a fresh tear falling down her cheek. Jamie took a step back, unsure of what to say or do in such a situation. Claire heard Skye's voice calling again and she rushed past Jamie down the hall. Skye rounded the corner just as Claire was at the end and he looked on with a disappointed sigh before he turned back around and left. Jamie watched as Skye left and shook his head with a sigh before going on his own way, deciding that it was none of his business.

Claire went into the girl's bathroom, a safe enough spot for her to finally let her emotions flood through the gates she'd tried to desperately to hide them behind. She shut herself into a stall, shaky hands sliding over the lock. With a breathy sob, she leaned her head against the door and began to cry freely. Every time she inhaled, her lungs were filled with the stale, perfumed air of the bathroom. It was unpleasant, but unavoidable. Claire used the back of her hands to furiously wipe away the offending tears, sniffling as she tried to calm her breathing and regain her composure. Seeing Skye like that after she'd tried to hard to avoid him this whole time… The memory of their breakup pushed to the forefront of her mind, the same place it had been all summer. Claire took several more deep breaths before the lunch bell rang against the tiled walls. Claire sighed and wiped her eyes once more before stepping out of the stall.

Claire walked over and rested her hands on the cool porcelain of the sink, placing her weight against it as she took another breath. The bags under her eyes from late nights of studying were even more prominent after she had cried. Claire cursed herself for not being the type to wear makeup. If she were, she'd have been able to cover it up easily. Instead, Claire just wet a paper towel with cool water and cleaned up her face before patting her cheeks a few times and taking more deep breaths. She gave herself one last glance, tired eyes focused on her reflection, before hurrying to the student council room. She ignored the look Jamie gave her when she walked in the room and took her seat wordlessly, remaining silent throughout the rest of the school day.

She kept her eyes trained on her school work on her desk. She let the chatter of the classrooms fill her head. She kept her senses occupied so they wouldn't return to the events that transpired earlier. Even on the car ride home, Claire remained quiet as a mouse. Jamie, too, was silent as he focused on the road. They pulled into his driveway and Claire got out of the car, backpack over one shoulder, and headed for her house without another word.

Jamie was about to call after her, even if to offer a rude quip about not getting any thanks for the ride, but he refrained and decided to keep his mouth shut, swallowing any words he might have said. She didn't want to be bothered and he wasn't the comforting type by any means. She'd be fine like she always was, he told himself. He'd seen her recover from worse.

Claire trudged up her driveway and to the front door, only to be met by a note taped to it. The thought of a hot shower and crawling into bed to cry again was washed away as she looked over the note, the words written in Diane's memorable loopy handwriting.

'Claire, I had to step out for the night. The girls and I are going out drinking! I need a fun night, don't you agree? Stay over at Mariel and Jamie's house tonight so you aren't home alone. I already dropped off an overnight bag for you there. Have a good night, sweetie! Love you!'

With a loud groan, Claire took the note off of the door and crumbled it in her hand before hitting her forehead gently against the front door a few times. Her day had been rough enough as it was. Why, of all nights, did Claire's mother have to go out for a Girl's Night with her friends? The blonde gave a final, frustrated sigh before heading over to Jamie's house, note in hand as she cut across the lawn. He hadn't even gotten his front door unlocked before Claire cleared her throat as she joined him on the porch.

"Looks like my mom won't be home tonight. Gotta crash at your place. She said to."

"Okay."

Jamie unlocked the door and stepped inside, shutting and locking the door after Claire entered. It had been some time since Claire had last needed to stay the night over at Jamie's house, the case usually being the opposite. Now that she was in the house, she could see why Mariel never wanted Jamie to be home by himself. The house was rather empty, save for a few nice furniture sets and a multitude of house plants. Jamie turned on the light in the living room and set his backpack on the couch.

"You can shower first. You remember where everything is, right?"

"Yeah, no problem. My mom said she left an overnight bag for me but…" Claire looked around the living room and front room, no bag to be seen. "I don't know if she really did drop it off."

"Well, if it's not around here then I don't think she did. We don't have a guest room, so it wouldn't be in there. It's certainly not going to be in my room."

"Either way, I don't have any pajamas to change into."

"Ugh, you're hopeless." Jamie left the living room and headed for his mother's bedroom door but his hand hesitated at the handle. For a moment, he debated with himself then turned away from Mariel's room and went to his own, then returned to the living room with a tee shirt and some sweats, handing them to Claire roughly. "Good enough?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Good. I'll get something started for dinner. Hurry up and shower."

"M'kay."

Claire set her backpack down next to Jamie's on the couch then headed for the bathroom to shower. She grabbed a towel from the hall closet before shutting herself in the bathroom and sighing as she rested her back against the closed door. She had been hoping to lock herself in her own room and let herself have an emotional breakdown with sad music on repeat until she fell asleep. It seemed that life had other plans for her. Claire turned the water on for the shower and stripped, tossing her clothes to the floor. She took her hair out of the tied bun and let it fall down in its molded waves, then stepped into the shower. The hot water ran over her and straightened her hair out with its weight and she felt the heat scald her skin as it rushed over her. She exhaled through her nose and felt her muscles relax from it.

The events from earlier in the day began to replay in her mind like a movie theater. She took a seat in the mental theater and let the images play. Skye's face when he entered that computer room had been unreadable, but she could remember clearly his expression when she confronted him about the text messages she'd in the spring earlier that year. She remembered the sinking feeling in her gut and her heart stopping cold as his confession of guilt left his lips. She remembered deleting and destroying everything that reminded her of him: every text, every picture, every note, every gift. It had all been a lie, as far as she was concerned. If he really did love her, he wouldn't have said what he did behind her back and he wouldn't have done what was unforgivable.

Hot tears blended with the hot water and Claire didn't realize she had begun to cry. Quickly, as if in a panic, she turned the knob to 'cold' and let the icy water freeze her up, sucking in air through clenched teeth. Goosebumps prickled her skin and she tried to scrub them away with the lavender soap provided. The cold water was able to calm her reddened eyes and let her have an excuse for being shaky. She stepped out of the shower to dry off and tied her hair up with the towel, then got dressed in the clothes Jamie had given her. She folded her dirty laundry to put in her backpack and headed out of the bathroom and down the hall back to the living room. The smell of fettuccine alfredo took over the air and Claire hummed in approval of Jamie's choice for dinner.

"Took you long enough. Did you waste all of my hot water?" Jamie called from his seat at the table, eyes trained on his phone. He hadn't started eating yet, both his plate and presumably Claire's still full with a serving of pasta. Claire placed her clothes into her backpack and took her seat at the table across from him, her own phone in hand.

"No, there's still plenty left for you. Maybe it'll melt that icy heart of yours."

"Nonsense. The heat of the sun couldn't even do that."

"No fucking kidding." Claire couldn't help but chuckle and Jamie felt himself relax a little bit. For what reason, he wasn't sure. He blamed it on the fact that Claire was harder to be around when she got emotional. He remembered just how insufferable she was when summer had started and she was freshly heartbroken. Getting Claire back to her usual, annoying self made his life easier than when she was an emotional wreck.

The two of them ate in silence after that exchange, both of them on their phones as they finished their dinners. Claire had some concerned texts from the girls about her absence from their usual lunch spot when they had finally arrived. She sent back a response assuring them she'd tell them about it later and that she was fine. She sent one more text to advise them to perhaps start looking for a new place to eat lunch. Ann suggested the gym but Elli protested, stating that it was far too crowded for them to have lunch like they normally would. Claire agreed and they decided they'd all look for a new lunch spot tomorrow.

Claire spoke up, stating that she'd take care of the dishes since Jamie cooked and he nodded, letting her take his empty plate from her. Jamie left to go shower and Claire took care of the sink of dishes. By the time they had both finished, Claire's hair had finally dried enough to where she could comb it through with her fingers. She placed her damp towel on top of the washing machine in their garage and, when she returned to the living room with her fingers running through her tangled hair, Jamie scolded her for not taking better care of herself and gave her a brush to use. Claire took the brush but stuck her tongue out. Jamie called her childish, but then returned the gesture anyways.

Claire brushed out her hair then claimed a spot on the couch and got to work on her homework for the evening while Jamie got to work on watering all of the house plants. They worked in silence on their respective tasks, leaving the other to their business. Claire looked up to Jamie to ask him something but the words never came out when she spotted him watering the flower pot by the tv. He had a soft smile on his lips as he looked closely at the plant, as though it were a father looking at his child with pride and love. Claire only looked at him for a few seconds before she chuckled to herself, though Jamie most definitely heard it. He snapped his head in her direction, cheeks turning red with embarrassment at being caught.

"What the hell are you laughing at, short stack?"

"Your face, you proud plant dad. You're looking at the flowers like they just made you a really ugly '#1 Dad' mug."

"I'll have you know that showing proper attention to plants, including speaking to them when tending to them at least once a day, has been scientifically proven to be beneficial to their growth."

"Yeah, and I bet those scientists who found that out looked like dorks doing it, too."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand. It's beyond your comprehension."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me know when the little daisies take their first steps so I can grab the video camera." Claire snickered and returned to looking at her notebook in her lap, already working on the next question as Jamie silently fumed. The room became silent again, save for the sound of Jamie pouring water into the planters. It wasn't until Jamie moved from that to dusting off the furniture that he spoke up again.

"So, what happened at school earlier? You and Skye seemed to be causing a scene, yet again. Don't tell me that's back on. It was such a headache having you two together."

Claire shut her notebook and looked to Jamie with narrowed eyes. "No, it's not back on. And mind your own business, would you? It's not like I want everyone to see shit like that. He's always managing to find a way to embarrass the hell out of me…" Claire grumbled a few expletives to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Good. He wasn't good for you, anyways. That's what my mom said."

"Yeah, well Mariel was right."

"She usually is."

Again, the two returned to their usual silence. After a couple of hours of Jamie doing chores and Claire finishing her homework, Claire finally decided to call it a night. She moved hers and Jamie's backpacks to the floor and went to the hall closet to grab herself a blanket and pillow to make her bed on the couch. Jamie bid her a good night and Claire returned it, then settled into her makeshift bed as Jamie left to his room. Claire laid there and stared up at the ceiling, a soft sigh escaping her. She forced her eyes shut as though she were trying to fall asleep by purely willing it. She wanted the day to be over with and, as though the world were finally feeling sympathy for her, Claire drifted into a dreamless sleep, the emotional roller coaster of the day tiring her out enough to stay asleep until morning.