Claire Elaine Bennet (some_kinda_hero) wrote in parabolical, @ 2008-01-26 01:18:00 |
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Current mood: | hopeful |
Entry tags: | claire bennet, john connor |
Hero meets hero
WHO: Claire Bennet and John Connor.
WHAT: Claire is looking for a place to live and thinks she found her old friend, Zach.
WHERE: Wilshire street, library, tbd.
WHEN: Mid-morning.
RATING: PG so far.
STATUS: INCOMPLETE.
Claire was wondering if running away had been such a smart move. Given, she wanted her independence and was sick of hiding, just...now that it was said and done, it was more real. And scary.
She'd managed to find a Days Inn that wasn't too horribly expensive, but she'd only be able to use the credit card for so long before someone came looking for her. So today was devoted to finding another place to crash. How or with whom was a bridge for crossing when approached, but maybe there would be ads taped to poles or fliers hanging in Starbucks. Not that such a thing would exactly be safe, but she could regenerate and...it was her fault for being here anyway.
Claire started her search walking down Wilshire, eyes moving about as she absorbed her new home.
John was walking down the street, eyes fixated on his shoes like always. He was pondering these Angel Investigator guys and.. he wasn't sure whether to trust them though they didn't seem to have ulterior motives. That didn't mean anything in this world, but he needed someone to trust. He didn't know where the hell he was. It didn't help that some blonde girl was eyeing him strangely. What? He had clothes on now for christssakes.
Claire bit her lower lip before approaching John, shoving her shyness aside for the sake of getting somewhere in this zoo of a city. “Hey, uh…do you know where the library is? I just moved here and I think I’m lost.” She offered a sheepish grin, her cheeks blushing slightly as she scratched at the back of her head. The library might have a bulletin board, and it was sure to be somewhat safer than roaming about LA looking for fliers.
He laughed hollowly. He was the last person on the planet anyone should ask for directions here. Then again.. he did have a natural sense of direction and he thought he had seen one on the way here. He was sure he could remember, in fact, if he retraced his steps.
"Hey, I'll tell you what," he said softly, looking back the way he'd come. "I'll walk you there if you want."
What? It couldn't do much harm... right?
Her eyes lit up and she hesitated to smile so widely. “Oh, really? Wow, I…thanks a lot. I’m Claire.” The former cheerleader smiled and offered her hand, meeting his eyes with much more ease now. And then…she took a step back. Having finally looked at his face, Claire couldn’t believe her eyes. Seeing who she thought was her friend before her hit her like a ton of bricks. Was it so impossible to think that he might be here too?
“Zach?” It was spoken barely above a whisper, more disbelief than anything, because she hadn’t seen her friend since moving to California. “Oh my God, is it really you??” The longer she stood there, the more she wanted to believe it was him, needed to believe it was him. It meant she wasn’t alone here, that she would have someone who completely understood the shit she was going through with the powers and…her family.
John's eyes widened, and he began to panic, if only just a little bit. He wasn't supposed to get noticed. Why did he have.. "one of those faces"? Goddammit.
"I.. don't think I'm... who you think I am," he tried slowly, meeting those wide, green eyes steadily. "My name is John Barbara. I just moved to LA."
Jesus. This place was weird.
At first, she assumed her father had erased his memories again, but he’d never gone far enough to make other think they had another name. Taking on a fake last name had been voluntary for them and necessary for survival. It didn’t count.
Her shoulders slumped visibly, all hope of having someone familiar here fading. “You sure? I mean, it’s a dumb question, but...you really look like a friend I had in Texas. You’re not from Odessa, are you?” She didn’t know why she was bothering, because even if he was Zach, he wasn’t about to remember her any time soon. It’d taken a while the last time her father had erased his memories.
He bit his lip, trying not to get emotionally invested. It was hard, dammit, when she looked at him that way. But he couldn't be who she wanted him to be just because it made him sad--that was stupid.
Is it? that little voice hissed, mocking him even now.
"Why don't you tell me about this friend of yours?" he said lightly, attempting cheerful. It was a hard look for him. "Come on, I'll walk you to the library. We'll figure this out..."
Figure what out? He wasn't a Texan named Zach, case closed. Shaking his head at himself, he motioned in front of himself so she might follow. He secretly found himself hoping she would and yet... he hadn't the slightest why.
It wasn’t him. It couldn’t be and yet it had to be at the same time. It was confusing for her, but she couldn’t force the guy to be Zach, right?
Claire forced a smile, nodding as she walked along side of him. “Yeah, sure. I’m sorry I thought you were him, it’s just you look exactly like him, ‘cept the hair maybe, and I was hoping to actually know someone here. He was kinda like my best friend back home. Well, old home, because we had to move here to Cali due to a job transfer for my father. He’s a great guy, he helped through a lot of hard times before I moved. What’s your name, since it’s obviously not Zach?” She was trying to lighten the mood, joking. She was grateful that he hadn’t freaked out and decided to not take her to the library. Maybe, with him being new in town as well, they could be friends or something?
"Uh, John. LIke I said." He was smiling a bit despite himself as he stuck out his hand for her to shake. "It's nice to meet you, uh, Claire."
And it was, for once. She was kind of cute, in that Southern, home-grown type of way. Besides, she seemed just as lost as he was, and it was a comfort in all the worst ways.
"So... big shift from Texas, hm? From the East Coast myself, so this is ridiculous."
Claire groaned and hit her forehead, sliding her hand down to hide her face. “You did say that, didn’t you? I’m so sorry, I was just so caught up in thinkin’ you were Zach.” She dropped her hand away and shook her head, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Glad for the change in subject, she took a look around and nodded vigorously. “It’s so like a culture shock. The cars and the noise and the people! They’re totally ruder here!” Because he reminded her of Zach, she already felt some sort of lame connection and level of comfort around him. She had to be careful, of course, and not slip up about her powers or having run away, but she figured she could manage. “So, which part of the East Coast are you from? Did you have to move because of a parent, too?”
"Nah, I'm used..." Damn. he wasn't playing his part. But they were ruder in.. New York? Or so he had heard. "Well, I'm from New York. People are way worse there." Maybe?
He took a second to pause--the street signs were mostly the same, but... obviously not his LA. Crazyness. Sighing, he took a left, motioning for Claire to follow.
"I'm from Manhattan," he said dismissively, but honestly he just didn't want to get the name of the city wrong so he went with what he knew. "My.. uh, mom moved out her for a job, too. My father died a long time ago in the.. Vietnam War. He was a hero."
The last words were said with as much conviction as ever as he clenched his fist and continued to guide the small, blonde girl through a maze of bustling Californians. Maybe...
If he was in an alternate reality then.. maybe in this place, he was this Zach person from Texas. What a strange concept, he thought, drifting off and walking faster than was probably customary for direction-giving.
Claire snorted, rolling her eyes. “I dunno, New York’s bad, and rude, but it’s different, ya know? It’s hustle and bustle and go-go-go, but here it’s all snobby rude. Like, my Prada bag is better ‘n your Gucci, where New York is, ‘hey the light’s been green for a millisecond, move!’” She laughed at her own examples, hoping he followed. “My da-, err, uncle lives in New York, and my grandmother.” She didn’t want to admit being adopted yet or explaining the whole Noah and Nathan situation. Not exactly great conversation for just meeting someone.
When he brought up his dad dying, she reached out and tenderly rubbed his arm, smiling sympathetically. “I’m sorry, John, about your dad. But…at least he’s remembered for somethin’ right?” It sounded stupid, whatever she just tried to say. She barely knew him, how could she offer any comfort on a guy she hadn’t met?
Claire kept up as best she could, thinking maybe he was lost and resorted to walking faster. “Are you alright?” He wasn’t trying to lose her…right?