InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "everyone hates hermione"

cheerhappy (cheerhappy) wrote in heroic_essence,
@ 2008-07-29 10:29:00

Entry tags:

brooke dawson, claire bennett

Who: Claire & Brooke
When: The morning after the dinner party
What: Claire finds out the big secret
Where: NYC; Brooke's apartment

When Claire awoke the next morning, she lay in bed for several minutes, thinking about the previous night. It had been one of the strangest nights of her life. First she'd been nervous and excited, and flattered, to be going to dinner with a would-be senator. Then Brooke had left halfway through the evening, and things had been tense. Despite the fact that she'd allowed Peter to pretend everything was alright, as he showed her the Empire State Building and they generally had fun...she knew something was wrong. Off.

And the blonde had the feeling her brunette friend knew what was going on.

Slipping out of the bed she went about her morning routine in the bathroom, then tugged on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Running a brush through her hair, she moved out of the guest room and headed for the kitchen, only to find Brooke leaning against the counter sipping coffee. Claire smiled brightly at her friend. "Good morning!" Moving to the fridge, she pulled out the orange juice, then snagged a glass from a cabinet and poured it. Jug replaced, she leaned against the counter beside her friend, studying her as she took a sip of her juice.

"I'd ask how you are, but you seem to be okay...so...want to tell me what was going on last night?" She wasn't going to let Brooke dodge this. Not this time.

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total__eclipse
2008-07-29 04:53 pm UTC (link)

Brooke's night had been a restless one. After hitting the bar, she'd circled around the block a few times to buy herself some time. Probably a dangerous thing to do considering she'd already been attacked once, but she hadn't been thinking clearly. Her mind was someplace else. Her goal had been to keep wandering around until it was so late that Claire had returned and fallen asleep before she ever got back. That way she wouldn't have to face her friend, and maybe her strange behavior would've been forgotten about by morning. Although now she'd have to explain where she ran off to when she was supposedly sick, and she just couldn't see herself lying to Claire. To lie for the girl's protection from a man who obviously didn't want to know his own daughter, or to tell the truth and possibly get her hurt in the process was already the question weighing heavily on her mind.

After only a few hours of shut eye ( and even that had been more like passing out from exhaustion after drinking a little too much alcohol ), the tossing and turning had become so bad that she decided to just get up. Once she did, she went into the kitchen to fix herself some coffee. Cup after cup was churned down. The one she was currently sipping on was the last of the pot, but she figured if Claire wanted any, she could fix a fresh brew. This one had been sitting out for awhile. Sure enough, almost as if on cue, her golden haired companion bounced perkily into the room. Okay, so maybe she hadn't bounced, but she looked happy. She was as cheery and bright as ever, and Brooke dreaded having to be the one to wipe that smile from her face.

"Morning," she replied with a tiny smile of her own. Asking about how things went last night with Peter was on the tip of her tongue - at least she'd thought about asking. She was still contemplating, actually. Maybe it was best to keep the conversation away from the Petrelli's until she could get a hold of herself. She could ask about how her friend had liked the city, but Claire had already jumped in with a question of her own: one that caused Brooke to absentmindedly tense, as she clutched the handle of her mug tighter. Really, when Claire wanted to know something, there was no brushing her aside. That only made her angry and curious. Honesty was the best policy here, but Peter had her second-guessing whether telling the truth was right or not. Dang it. But this wasn't his best friend. He wasn't having to live with her, look her in the face, and lie constantly.

It was time for a serious gut check. Usually her instincts were right. She just needed to follow them. Technically she'd given Nathan until tonight. That's what she'd said. But if they hadn't contacted Claire by now, they probably weren't going to - and she didn't know how to escape the question without looking suspicious. So after taking a deep breath, she positioned herself so that she was facing her roommate instead of leaned over on the counter looking straight ahead. "Do I have to?" She held out for one last stubborn moment, but the expression on Claire's face left no room for debate: yes, she had to. So after lifting a hand to brush her fingers roughly through her hair, an action done out of frustration that she was the one having to do this ( she'd kind of been hoping Nathan or Peter would come forward ), she gestured towards the kitchen table. "Why don't you sit down."

She was certainly sitting for this. In fact, she'd already sauntered over and plopped herself down in one of the vacant chairs.

Claire probably suspected by now that whatever she had to say was big. Apparently, she wasn't as good at hiding her conflicting inner emotions as she'd initially thought: not from such a close friend. So Brooke was basically left with no other choice but to have a serious sit-down with Claire and explain it to her from the beginning ... if only she could find the strength to look her in the eye and the right words to say to make all this sound like a good thing.

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cheerhappy
2008-07-29 05:22 pm UTC (link)

Claire's smile had faded as she stood and watched her friend, taking another sip of juice. "Do I have to?" One eyebrow arched a bit, and she could tell Brooke gave in.

By now, Claire was more than a bit nervous. "Are you...is everything alright?" She thought it might have something to do with Brooke, or with Peter. She couldn't know what was possibly to come. After a moment, the blonde followed Brooke to the table, and took the empty chair across from her.

She stretched out her legs absently under the table, head tilted as she watched Brooke apparently struggle with what she wanted to say. "Brooke..how bad can it be? Just tell me."

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total__eclipse
2008-07-29 07:47 pm UTC (link)

After taking another minute or two to gather her thoughts, she'd lift her gaze from the table and lock eyes with Claire. "It's not about me. It's about you ..." There was a long pause in between. She still didn't like having to do this, but it was too late to retract everything now. So she finally blurted out the other person it involved. "... and Nathan Petrelli." Which would seem like a pretty odd combination, if one didn't know the circumstances. Guess that meant she should start filling in the gaps.

"You remember the night of the Halloween party? You said that Peter and his brother were giving you funny looks? They probably were." She hadn't thought much of it at the time, but it had made her suspicious enough to do a little investigating of her own. The result: she'd discovered that Claire was Nathan's daughter. Brooke would've been more forthcoming with her information ( maybe ) if she had been one hundred percent positive that Nathan and/or Peter knew. Because there was a small chance that they'd kept glancing over for some other reason. Jumping to conclusions rarely did anything but make a bad situation worse, so she'd kept quiet and accepted the invitation that had been extended their way, supposedly out of sheer graciousness, and worked to uncover the truth from there.

After taking a deep breath, she'd break the news as gently as possible. "Nathan Petrelli is your biological father." Her attention never left Claire, and for a few moments, she sat in complete silence. She wanted to let her friend digest that whopper of a revelation before she attempted to explain how she'd found out.

But the silence was deafening, so she only let it linger for a brief while before she started talking again. "I had a DNA test done. It was just a crazy hunch. At least I thought it was crazy. But the results came back yesterday afternoon and confirmed it. That's why I was acting so weird. But I didn't want to ruin everyone's evening until I knew that he knew." She would selectively leave Peter out of this ... for now. "I got my answer." And her sudden hostility towards a man that she had formerly spoken highly of on occasion should've been a dead give-away as to what that answer had been: not the one she was hoping for. Disappointment was no stranger to her, though. She'd been accepting harsh truths her whole life. It was Claire she was worried about. Brooke knew how important finding her biological parents was to her friend, and while it might not seem like such a bad thing to have an up-and-rising politician as one's father, his lack of interest had to sting a little.

When she spoke again, her tone was soft and laced with concern. "Are you okay?" Brooke canted her head to the side, lowering her chin slightly as she studied Claire's reaction.

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cheerhappy
2008-07-29 11:24 pm UTC (link)

"It's not about me. It's about you....and Nathan Petrelli." Confusion filled the teen's face. As her lips parted to question this, Brooke began to talk, so Claire remained silent.

Her thoughts flashed back to the halloween party. They had been looking at her strangely, though at the time she had half-assumed it was Brooke they were looking at, since Peter knew her. Then her friend continued. "Nathan Petrelli is your biological father." She blinked. For a moment Claire stared at her friend, incredulous, but was once again cut off by her.

"Are you okay?" Claire held up a hand for a moment, looking away as she attempted to process all this. Finally, she looked up. "How long have you known?" Something else Brooke had said occurred to her. "Wait...he knew? He knew, last night, who I am?" The look on her face was full of hurt, mixed with anger and confusion. "He...what was last night? Some sort of...of stupid test? To see if I'm good enough for him?!" She half stood, her eyes starting to fill with tears she wasn't even sure herself that she wanted them to fall.

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total__eclipse
2008-07-30 03:58 am UTC (link)

"Just since yesterday, I swear." She watched as her friend's primary emotion changed from confusion to shock, and from shock to anger. She was hurt too. That was obvious, and Brooke had figured she'd react this way. That's precisely why she'd really been hoping that Nathan Petrelli would at least show some kind of interest in his own flesh and blood. At least then Claire would feel important. Maybe she'd still be upset, but it wouldn't be anything like this. But he'd decided to selectively lose his spine, and now she was left to deal with the repercussions when she didn't have all the answers herself. A lot of what she would have to respond with was what she assumed was going on, because she hadn't exactly stuck around to talk it out in-depth with either Petrelli brother about how long they'd known or why they were keeping their mouths shut. At the time, she hadn't really cared.

Brooke stood shortly after Claire started to get up, then side-stepped so she could easily reach over to gently take hold of the other's arm. "Listen to me, okay? Are you listening to me?" She waited for some sign: a nod, a head tilt, something, before releasing her friend's arm that had mostly been grabbed so she could get her full attention back. "I was just as surprised as you were to get the invitation, but when Peter called, I knew something was up. Nathan Petrelli doesn't make time for just anyone, and he doesn't express an interest in his brother's friends. But I needed to know ... I needed to know that he was aware of the fact that you were his daughter before I started blackmailing him. That's why I asked him, point blank, if he had any girls. From there, I drew my conclusions from his reactions, and when you went to the bathroom, I cornered him. I told him he had twenty four hours to tell you himself, or that I would do it. I wanted to give him the chance to tell you. I thought it would be better that way, if he could explain it to you in a way that made sense ..."

She wasn't trying to justify her actions, although that might've been what it sounded like. What she was trying to do was lay it all out there in a comprehensible manner.

"But Claire, I really think he just wanted to know you. It wasn't about seeing if you were good enough to measure up to any of his screwed up expectations. I don't know why he didn't say anything, and I don't know why Peter-" She bit down on her bottom lip. Oops. Rephrase. "I don't know why. That's something you're going to have to ask him yourself, and you can. I'll make sure he sees you, if that's what you want." Or this could be exactly the type of thing to send Claire running back to Texas, whereupon Brooke would probably never hear from her again. That thought caused her shoulders to sink slightly as she shook her head, annoyed with herself. "He has a wife. From what I hear, their marriage is on the rocks. If she found out about you, she'd leave him for sure." Then there was the matter of his public image, but she was trying her hardest not to paint him as a cad. She was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt ... now that she'd calmed down a little. And maybe, just maybe, because she blamed herself now more than anyone else.

"I'm sorry. I really am. You came to me for fun, and look what happened." Once a screw up, always a screw up. Some things never changed.

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cheerhappy
2008-07-30 09:35 am UTC (link)

"Since yesterday..." Claire nodded slowly. It wasn't Brooke she was angry at. It was her...her father. There he'd sat, across the table from her, all smug and superior, and he'd known.

One tear escaped and slid down her cheek as she froze as Brooke caught her arm. A faint nod was given in response to the question about listening, and she warily looked up, meeting her eyes. "He...he didn't tell me." She took a deep breath, then waited as Brooke went on. She barely even noticed the mention of Peter. "After...after you left, he...acted like he didn't care. Like he wanted the night over. He left because of a phone call...and he was so...cold." She shook her head a little.

She let her breath out slowly when Brooke finished. "It's not your fault...you just found out the truth for me." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I...I don't want to blackmail him. Or ruin his campaign, or his image, or his marriage. I don't have any right to do those things." She didn't have a right to his life. "I just...I want to ask him why..." Rubbing a hand across her eyes swiftly, they reopened and looked at Brooke. "I want to see him."

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total__eclipse
2008-07-30 07:32 pm UTC (link)

What a jerk. Here she'd expected Nathan to be nicer after she left. You know, once he didn't have that looming threat hanging over his head - or more like staring him in the face. But apparently that's not the way it'd played out. Whatever had transpired after she'd excused herself for the evening hadn't been pleasant, though from what she was hearing, he didn't really stick around long enough to kill the mood too much. Guess he considered himself doing everyone a favor, or was he just looking out for his own selfish needs. Probably the latter. But she didn't say anything, not until Claire was completely through. When she spoke again, she wanted to be able to offer words of comfort as opposed to a stream of curses directed towards a man she'd mostly only observed from afar.

It broke her heart to see her friend cry. Maybe the tears weren't flowing, but they were clearly visible, and one had already dripped down her cheek. That alone was enough to bring tears to Brooke's eyes, even though not one fell. She wouldn't allow it. She was supposed to stay strong: stay strong for Claire.

She felt a brief wave of relief wash over her when she was let off the hook, sorta speak. She wasn't being held responsible or accused of lying, betrayal, or deceit. Not that she planned on letting herself off that easily, but it was good to hear. She would've hated for this to damage their friendship, because it was one of the best, and only good things she had in her life right now - or ever, for that matter. So she planned to do whatever it took to make sure Claire got the answers she needed. That's all she was asking for: answers. Not an unreasonable demand.

Brooke nodded. "Okay. Just have a seat, and when I get off the phone, I'll make us breakfast." Not that she probably had much of an appetite, but if she was going to face off with her cold-as-ice father, she shouldn't do it on an empty stomach.

A few steps were taken as she started to leave the room, but she stopped long enough to turn back and add one thing, even though it irked her to have to say it. "If he didn't care at all, he never would've had Peter invite us to dinner." That meant he'd been a little interested, even if it didn't show. There'd be no other reason to ask them to tag along to some fancy dinner with him and his brother otherwise.

With that said, she slipped out of the kitchen and grabbed the phone up off the sofa. Then she went into the bedroom to dial Petrelli's campaign office, closing the door behind her as she listened to the ringing on the other end of the line. He usually made his way there earlier on in the day, before he got called away to all those fancy brunches or cocktail parties. Finally after a countless number of rings, his secretary answered. "I'd like to speak to Mr. Petrelli, please." As predicted, she got static, even though she'd said please. So much for the nice approach. On to Plan B. "Look, I know he's there. Tell him it's a family emergency." And in a way, it kind of was. When her name was asked for, she'd give a vague response. "A friend."

And he'd better not say no, because if he did, she would drag Claire down there and make a scene in front of everyone. If her friend wouldn't go, well, she'd ride solo. But she would get his cooperation. Unfortunately for him, she wasn't nearly as nice as Claire.

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aleaderwillrise
2008-07-30 08:30 pm UTC (link)

Nathan had been busy going over his schedule for the day when he was interrupted and told that there was someone on the phone asking to speak to him. He was just about to ask his secretary to take a message; that is, before she explained the circumstances. The words 'family emergency' drew his attention long enough for him to reconsider. "Fine, I'll take it in here." As he waited for the call to be transferred to his office, he glanced over his calendar once more, a heavy frown already settled in place. Wasn't it a little early for things to already be going wrong? Looks like it was going to be one of those days.

When the light on his phone lit up signaling that he had a call on the line, he'd reach over, pick it up, and press it against his ear. "Yeah?" It was clear by the tone of his voice that he was already not in a great mood. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night. After verbally lashing out at Peter, he'd been left to seriously think over the ultimatum he'd been issued. Once he started doing that, he'd been too wound up to go to bed.

Speak of the devil ....

Though he didn't instantly recognize Brooke's voice. What he did know was whose voice it wasn't. It wasn't Ma, Peter, or Heidi. Was this some kind of prank? Because if it was, he didn't have the time or the patience for a bunch of petty crap. Then the woman gave her name and a little piece of recent history to remember her by. What was she thinking, calling here like this? He had at least half a day left to consider his options, and he wasn't about to give her a decision one way or the other ahead of time. He had too much else to do. Incase she hadn't noticed, he was trying to win an election, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what she wanted. This one had a one track mind, and she was really starting to work his last nerve.

"Listen lady, you gave me twenty-four hours. Now I have a board meeting-" His sentence was cut short when she got right to the point: she'd already told Claire. "What the hell did you do that for?" He'd lowered his voice even though the door was shut. Oh, but that wasn't even the best part. His daughter wanted to see him. Your daughter: the exact words she'd used. She probably thought that by phrasing it as such, he'd get that warm and tingly feeling inside and willingly accept.

Maybe he would, and maybe he wouldn't. He wanted her to sweat it out for a few minutes. After all, she'd already blown apart his entire life by blabbing her mouth. It was only fair.

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total__eclipse
2008-07-30 08:52 pm UTC (link)

So he was some big shot? Big freakin' deal. That didn't give him the right to be so rude all the time. Because of his huffy tone ( and the fact that her friend had just been in tears because of him ), she hadn't broken the news to him as gently as she would've liked. She'd actually been silently preparing a speech and everything, but he had to go and blow it with his lousy attitude. If he wanted to make this a fight, she'd fight. Forget all the rules and regulations. She was a street fighter: a brawler. Brooke could play down and dirty if that's what he forced her to do. That didn't mean she wanted to. So if there was any way to avoid it, she'd go along. That's what she'd been trying to do so far, but all it'd done was blow up in her face every step of the way.

When she spoke again, her tone was dripping with sarcasm and laced with a hint hostility. "For a minute there, I almost forgot who I was talking to." Board meeting. Right. Because that should always take precedence over one's own family. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but maybe you should've thought about how much an illegitimate child would've inconvenienced you and your precious career before you left her behind." She had no respect for a man that was clearly capable of raising kids, but had purposefully chose not to keep this one around. Maybe if the situation had been different, if this hadn't been a friend of hers ... or if he'd turned out to be some addict or abusive drunk, she would've understood. But from where she was standing, Nathan Petrelli had no justifiable excuse.

"I told Claire because you didn't. Because you didn't have the guts to look your own daughter in the eye and tell her that you are her father. But she had a right to know." And now she did. Next came the real kicker, one she was sure he'd love, but who really cared about what he thought? "She wants to see you." By 'see you,' she didn't mean talk to her over the phone for a couple of minutes whenever he could squeeze her into his undoubtedly already booked schedule. And she didn't mean tomorrow, or next week, or next month. Today. "As soon as possible." She tried to lose some of the bite behind her words, knowing that probably didn't help him comply to her request, but she kept her voice firm to prove that she wasn't going to bend on this. And it should be obvious by now that she wasn't bluffing either.

"You have a teenage daughter, and she's here, wanting to talk to you. Does that mean anything to you?" Brooke bit down on her lip to keep from saying something she'd regret. Well, something else. She'd probably come to regret this all later. The Petrelli's didn't take too kindly to taking orders.

"Claire is a good person. She doesn't want to ruin your life. She just wants answers, and you owe her that much." She stopped there, waiting for his response with absolutely no idea of what it would be.

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aleaderwillrise
2008-07-30 09:19 pm UTC (link)

How dare she judge him? She had no idea how he felt about finding out after all these years that his daughter was alive. She was completely unaware of the circumstances at the time. So maybe his actions didn't seem justified to her, but he could care less whether she understood his motives. He had to continually focus on the big picture, and Claire just didn't fit. Yes, even he would admit that phrasing it in that manner made him sound harsh or uncaring, but that's how he had conditioned himself to become a good leader ... and a winner. And right now he was so close to winning that he could taste it. He wasn't about to sacrifice it all on a sentimental whim. A part of him knew that if he embraced this girl as his own flesh and blood, he would resent her later in life for costing him the race. That wouldn't be healthy for anyone.

That wasn't even touching on how detrimental it would be to his marriage. He and Heidi were already on the brink of separation: just tottering over the edge, waiting for a strong wind to come along and blow them off the cliff. He couldn't explain this to her. He didn't even have the nerve to try, just like he hadn't had the nerve to tell Claire the truth. Who's to say it was for the best? It was highly likely from the way she'd turned out that she already had a stable home life with loving parents that wanted her and didn't view her as an obligation or a problem that needed to be solved. He couldn't promise to love and care for her as well as the people who'd raised her. So he didn't see a point in dragging all this up or reliving the past. All it did was reopen old wounds and form brand new ones.

But after a long silence, even though he was still filled with a high amount of trepidation, he agreed to her terms. Under one condition: it would be on his time. "I get an hour and a half for lunch. Lunch is at 12:30. I'll be free then." He'd ignored Brooke's snippy remarks and incredulously asked questions, assuming she hadn't expected an honest answer in the first place. That, and he wasn't in the sharing mood. He rarely was.

Despite his icy demeanor and callously phrased sentences, he did care, and if he had caused Claire any grief, he was sorry. That was ultimately why he'd agreed: to give her some closure. As much as he dreaded it, he was willing to try and shed some light on the matter if that's what the girl really thought she wanted.

However, she could've been spared all this had her alleged friend not concerned herself with an issue that was none of her business. Now he had been painted as the bad guy, but he wasn't the only one responsible for Claire's sorrow or confusion: something he planned to venomously point out when he wasn't in a hurry.

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total__eclipse
2008-07-30 09:51 pm UTC (link)

"Twelve thirty, my place." She'd leave, of course, and let them speak in private once he got there. But she figured his house wasn't an option. The office was too busy. And if they met at any other public place, they'd run the risk of having their conversation overheard. Her apartment seemed liked the safest, and least suspicious choice. Although he might want to be careful on his way over. If any member of the press decided to tag along, it wouldn't look so good: him showing up at some strange girl's apartment who was way younger than him. Not only that, but she had an underage roommate who he'd wined and dined the night before. Then again, Brooke wouldn't be all that sorry if he did get a little bad publicity. It would serve him right. But the goal was to keep him out of the limelight as much as possible, so that'd sorta be defeating the purpose.

After giving him her address, she hung up. Maybe it hadn't been such a wise choice ... to give a powerful man who she'd pissed off her apartment number, but what choice did she have? Besides, she could take care of herself. Whatever he intended to throw her way she could handle. It wasn't like he didn't have people that could dig up that sort of information.

Brooke hung out in the bedroom for several minutes, her hands absentmindedly balled into fists down by her sides as she tried to calm herself down. She had a tendency to get extremely angry when she allowed herself to be upset, which was partially why her life had turned out to be such a disaster. But despite the rocky road she'd taken, she was content with where she was now and who she was, for the most part. So once she got a grip, she exited the bedroom and headed back into the kitchen where she found Claire waiting. "After being given the runaround, I finally talked to him. He's coming over here somewhere around 12:30." Give or take a few minutes for unexpectedly long meetings or traveling delays.

"So what about that breakfast?" Subject change: she found that the healthiest route to take, unless Claire took the conversation back in the opposite direction. Which was fine ... she just wasn't going to be the one to do it. "I'm no chef, but I'm pretty sure I bought just about everything when I heard you were coming to stay with me." And she'd been back to the store countless times since then. Usually she'd just keep enough grub around to keep herself satisfied, and most of that ended up being junk food. But she'd tried to actually fill her cupboards ( instead of placing only a handful of selected items inside ) ever since Claire arrived. She wanted her guest to have options.

Even though she was trying to lighten the mood, concern was still visible in her eyes every time she looked at her friend. It's not like she'd forgotten about the emotional distress the other was in, but dwelling on it typically didn't lead to anything good. It was entirely up to Claire, whether she preferred to think about it or not think about. But if she had any more questions about what Brooke knew ( although she didn't really know that much ), she'd be more than happy to answer them. In a way, there was nothing worse than not knowing. Maybe that was part of her problem. There were so many things she could never ask her father, and even when she had built up the nerve, his answers had stung worse. So she ran. Fortunately, when Claire ran away from her father, she would be running to the place she called home, instead of away from it.

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cheerhappy
2008-07-30 10:20 pm UTC (link)

"If he didn't care at all, he never would've had Peter invite us to dinner." Claire remained standing for several minutes after her friend walked away. She was hurting. A lot. She suddenly wished her dad was there, if only just to hug. She wasn't even sure if she could tell him this. That she now knew who both her parents were. Maybe her biological mother would know?

For a moment, she felt like she could barely breathe. Slowly she sat at the table again, placing her head in her hands. Her eyes shut as she tried to make all the pieces fit in her head, but she still couldn't understand. She wasn't wanted. Her own father didn't want her.

A silly thought went through her mind. Her mother could make fire. She could heal. Could he do something? And if so...what? Would he even tell her? Would he want to?

Why did she even care?

Her father...her thoughts trailed off when Brooke walked back in, and she looked up slowly, wiping her eyes again. "I...I'm not really hungry." She knew she should eat something, probably would have wanted to, later, but she wasn't sure she could without being sick.

"...Do you really think it's a good idea, to see him?"

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total__eclipse
2008-07-31 03:55 am UTC (link)

That was an extremely complicated question.

After plopping herself back down in the chair, she let her shoulders rise and fall in a light shrug. But that wasn't the kind of answer Claire was looking for. She needed a little bit more than that, so Brooke offered up her opinion.

"I think that if you don't talk to him, it's going to drive you crazy. If you let this go, when you get home, you're going to wonder if you made the right decision. You're gonna start second-guessing yourself, and someday, you might even start blaming yourself. What if you'd at least given him a chance to explain?" Again, she didn't have all the answers. Even the answers she had, there was no guarantee they were the right ones. Guess it was a good thing she wasn't ever planning on having kids, because she wasn't the most stable role model in the world. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether her own head was screwed on straight, so giving advice was tricky. Claire was young and impressionable and looking to her for guidance. She'd hate to nudge her in the wrong direction. Best to word everything as vaguely as possible and leave it somewhat open to interpretation.

'Cause her friend was smart. Way smarter than Brooke considered herself, so the answer more than likely rested deep inside Claire. That little voice that supposedly told you what to do ... she'd probably do better just listening to that: being true to herself and what she was feeling, even if her emotions were all over the place right now. People always warned you about acting on impulse, but sometimes your first instinct was correct. It could also be misleading though, so she wanted to give the girl a small warning in advance.

"If he turns you away, at least you tried. Your lack of a relationship will be no one's fault but his." And that's ultimately what she wanted. Brooke wanted to lift the blame from Claire's shoulders and get rid of the crazy idea that she wasn't good enough to be Nathan Petrelli's daughter. She wanted Nathan to give her friend a legitimate excuse for why he'd separated them and kept them separated for her whole life without so much as a letter or a phone call when she'd gotten old enough to start inquiring about her real parents. But ... "He'll probably be stiff and evasive, because that's just the way he is. Maybe even defensive. But don't let that discourage you." Because in the end, the only thing Claire could control about this situation was her own words and actions. If she expressed everything that was weighing heavily on her heart, slowly but surely she would feel better, and he would be the one left to carry it all.

"You know, I've volunteered to help out with his campaign several times in the past. So I haven't really gotten to know him, but I have seen him, how he interacts with others. Some people, they don't know how to openly love. They put up these walls for whatever reason, and they never let them down. I think he's one of those people. It's not you he doesn't trust, it's the world. But once you get like that, cold and hard, it's almost impossible to remember how to express the things that make you vulnerable ... and human. It doesn't help he's running for Congress. You can't ever find an honest politician these days." The last couple of sentences were meant as a joke, although it was mostly the truth.

She went on to tell Claire the same story she'd told Peter: about the day he'd been one foot out the door, on his way to an important meeting, when his brother called. He could've had his secretary lie and say he'd already gone, but he took that call. Why? Because he cared more than he let on. Who knows whether he was capable of showing his softer side or not, but that didn't mean it didn't exist. In a way, Brooke could relate. She'd been bitter for a long time in her youth and not a very nice person during that phase.

"At least you can tell him what you're feeling, get it off your chest. What he chooses to do from there will reflect what kind of man he really is." The corners of her lips sank down into a heavy frown. "I don't know, Claire. I'd like to believe that he's just scared, but I don't know him well enough to get your hopes up on my intuition alone. It's up to you."

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cheerhappy
2008-07-31 11:24 pm UTC (link)

Claire looked up at her friend as she spoke, and gave a slow nod. Brooke was right. Claire would regret it, if she didn't talk to him now, while she had the chance. She really wanted to give him a chance to explain himself, but in all honesty, Claire was scared of what he would say. Or do. She didn't like rejection, and didn't accept it very well-which was probably his fault to begin with for not being her father.

Her eyes fell to the table as Brooke continued, digesting her words as she told Claire about working at the headquarters, and the story about Peter. Maybe the cold man she'd seen last night wasn't her father. Maybe it could be the concerned man. The warmer one. She hoped.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at her friend again. "I'll talk to him...I just...don't go too far, okay?" In case Claire lost her nerve in the process, she would need the moral support.

We can skip to 12:30 after or halfway through your next post, if you want.

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total__eclipse
2008-08-01 04:04 am UTC (link)

"You got it." There were multiple ways she could make herself scarce but not go far. She could circle around to the vending machine, grab herself a drink, and wander the halls for awhile. She could leave when Mr. Petrelli arrived, then sneak back in her bedroom window via the fire escape. She could see if Isaac would open his door and let her in for a little while, or she could stray as far as the convenience store on the edge of the street, browse for a few minutes, and loop back around to her apartment complex. The option she preferred was the one that required her neighbor's cooperation. You know, so she wouldn't be aimlessly pacing back and forth, looking like some lost child. But Isaac wasn't a very reliable person. It wasn't really something he could help though, so she didn't hold it against him.

The truth of the matter was that not only had her protective instincts kicked in, but her nurturing ones as well. So the thought of popping in for an unexpected visit crossed her mind more than once ... until she got to thinking about how messy it could get. Best to wait until she could devote a good chunk of her time to him and whatever condition she found him in. At this point, she was just hoping he was alive ...

A series of blinks followed the disturbing thought as she snapped herself back to the present. Focus, Brooke. One problem at a time.

"You know, I could slip a tape recorder under one of the couch cushions, and-" She could already tell Claire wasn't too crazy about the direction this was going. Seriously, the girl's heart was way too big. Brooke was all about payback, although she usually got even real sneaky-like. 'In your face' wasn't typically her style. Maybe she'd overcompensated slightly because Nathan Petrelli was such a big deal in these parts: high and mighty and all that. Plus she didn't like people looking down their noses at her or her friends. But even though at this point he wouldn't be getting her vote, she'd probably knock herself out enough to do a little house cleaning before his arrival.

As for right now ...

She pushed her chair back and stood to her feet before crossing the kitchen and reaching into the cupboard, removing a box of pancake mix. "Well, I am going to have chocolate chip pancakes with lots of whipped cream." Not the healthiest choice, but oh well. She knew what she liked, and maybe if she made it look appetizing enough, she could tempt Claire into having some.

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