Interesting Equations Who: Claire and Madock When: After Madock drops of Jessalyn Where: Their house
Once he dropped Jessalyn off, Madock drove back to his house and headed straight for Claire's room. He wasn't really sure if she'd be home yet or not. For all he knew, she could still be out with Gabe, but he knocked lightly on her door anyway. "Claire, you home?" he asked through the door. He wanted to talk to his sister, find out how she really felt about the whole thing with Gabe. Find out what he said to her too because that was kind of interesting and he was curious. But mostly, he wanted to make sure that she was still okay with moving into a house, the three of them together, after finding out Gabe liked her.
Claire was actually in bed, though she was reading rather than sleeping. She looked up from her book at the knock on her door and relaxed when she heard Madock's voice. "I'm here, come in," she called back, closing her book and scooting up on the bed to lean back against her headboard. She had a feeling he would be coming to talk to her after he got home, but she didn't know if that was her clairvoyancy or just twin intuition.
He pushed the door open, stepping inside and shutting it behind him again. He was glad he'd brought extra clothes that day and changed at Charlie's house because he didn't have to waste time changing now. He sat down on the edge of her bed and arched a brow. "How was the party for you?" Madock asked. "I didn't think you'd be home, was pretty sure you'd be out with Gabe or something." He wasn't sure if that was a bad sign that she hadn't spent more time with him that night. Had she come straight home? Crap.
"I spent the majority of the day with Gabe," Claire pointed out before she pulled off her glasses and gave Madock a small smile. "We have a lot to do tomorrow, so we both figured it was best to call it an early night. I'll see him tomorrow, and then I'm sure I'll be at his party for most of the night." Maybe longer, since he apparently wanted to watch the sunrise with her. Or something. "I'm guessing you know he told me that he liked me, right?"
"Yeah..." he nodded. "I told you he did. Now you have to believe it because he told you himself, but that's not the point. I wanna know what you're thinking about the whole thing." Madock said. "And I want to make sure that you're still okay with the whole us moving in together thing too because I dunno... I don't want it to be weird for you or whatever."
"I'm..." Claire trailed off and chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully before she sighed. It was Madock, so she knew she could be honest with him. "I'm still trying to get used to it. When you're friends with someone for a couple of years and it's never been anything but platonic... to have that suddenly shift and change is hard to get used to. And he only just told me today. If something comes of it, then living together... I don't know if mom would like that. And if nothing comes of it, I don't want things to be weird. You know?"
"Newsflash, Claire. Mom doesn't get to decide where you live. We're eighteen and it's not like you're dumb enough to go off and get pregnant or anything, but again, not the point. I just want you to be sure you can handle living with him and me before we jump into a living arrangement that's going to make you feel uncomfortable." He didn't want that for Claire, no matter how much he might think that Gabe and Claire should just date and stop beating around the bush about it. "And you need to stop using your friendship as an excuse to not have more." he said gently. "And that's not because I'm rooting for Gabe, but honestly, Claire, people who date or whatever or end up together, usually start out as friends first." he pointed out.
"Mom doesn't decide where I live, but she probably wouldn't be happy with me moving in with my boyfriend, if that's what Gabe became," Claire said pointedly. "And no, I'm definitely not going to go off and get pregnant." Gabe being a werewolf... having sex with him meant... well, a lot more than just sex. Though now she was thinking about sex with Gabe. Claire's cheeks flushed. "I'm not using it as an excuse, Madock. I care about him a lot. And he's my best friend. Yeah, people are friends before they date, but once they break up? Not so much friends anymore. I don't want... I have to decide if taking that kind of chance is worth it."
"But what if you're sitting around not wanting to take the chance and you let it pass you by? What if he's the one that's right for you?" Madock questioned. "Claire, I'm not going to tell you what to do, but sometimes you've just... gotta take a risk? I don't want you and Gabe to not be friends anymore either, but honestly, I think the two of you are capable of giving it a go and I personally don't think you'd break up, but if you did, Gabe's not going to want to lose you. You and I both know that he's like... so protective of you it's not funny. If you're with someone... I'd rather it be him than just about anyone else. At least I know he really cares about you..."
"I'm only eighteen," Claire said dryly. "And I don't necessarily think I believe in 'the right one'. It's not that I'm trying to find reasons not to give it a try. I mean, I am giving it a try, since I told him I would go out with him Saturday night." She paused and lifted her hand to rub her palm against her eye. "Look... you've seen the kind of marriage mom and dad have. I'm not saying that I'm going to marry Gabe, or anyone for that matter, but mom and dad? That's the kind of relationship example I've had my entire life. I don't want to end up like them. What about you? Do you honestly believe in one person for everyone?"
"I believe that I'm not going to fucking turn into dad." he said, his tone a little more harsh than he'd meant it to be. "Sorry..." he said, shaking his head a little. "I refuse to sit here and think that I'm going to end up in a relationship like theirs. Sure I think about it. Sure it sucks, but I'm not going to let them ruin my thinking for what I want with my life. I'm not going to stick with someone just for the kids, I'm not going to treat my wife like shit, and I refuse to ever make someone feel the way that dad makes you feel. Don't let him take away your right to be happy, Claire."
She knew he was right, and she wished she could switch it all off like a light, but she couldn't. It was just something she was going to have to work on, she supposed. And did she want to let it ruin what she could possibly have with Gabe? Claire reached down to pluck a bit at her blanket before she looked back up at her brother. "I think... I mean, I know that... I like him. As more than friends. I've always... I just didn't think it would happen so I sort of... pff, I'm not good at this," she said impatiently. "That's something else, you know? I'm not good at expressing myself that way, and he is... and I always feel like I said the wrong thing, or I didn't say the right thing. I don't want to hurt him. And I don't want him to hurt me."
"If he hurts you, I told him I'd kick his ass." Madock said. "Even though I probably didn't have to tell him and I was mostly joking, but Claire... it's not fair to him, and it's sure as hell not fair to you to let that...," he sighed and toned his voice down a bit. "It's not fair to let that fucker in there make you afraid to care about someone. Gabe's good for you. He knows that you're pretty damn amazing and he's not afraid to let you know that to. I just hope that you start to realize that too. Maybe he'll rub off on you. You're so caught up in believing what he tells you that you stopped believing what you feel about yourself."
Claire eyed her brother before managing a small smile. "Is this one of your Madock pep talks?" But he had a point, even if she didn't want to admit it. "Look, we're going to go out and do something on Saturday. As a... a date, I guess. All I can do is see how it goes. I promise I'll stop overthinking this whole thing and just have fun. If it works out, then... great. If it doesn't, I'm sure I can handle it. I think no matter what, as long as it doesn't crash and burn, Gabe's going to move in with us. It's just better for him, and easier for us. Though he and I both made up a rule... Madock's smelly socks have to be in the hamper at all times."
Madock chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." he said. "Well rule number two, if you're gonna have sex, warn the other people in the house so earplugs can be used accordingly." he teased.
Earplugs was another rule, Claire remembered, but she couldn't tell him that just yet. After Gabe talked to Madock about being a werewolf... then she would. "We're not going to have sex," Claire said firmly, shooting her brother a look. "And you're one to talk! I bet you and Jessalyn would be ten times worse than Gabe and me."
"Will not." he said, shaking his head. "If I have sex with her... it won't be for a while anyway and when I do you won't need earplugs. Well, you might because she'll probably laugh at me for being so nervous."
"Now see, you rag on me for being down on myself," Claire said, poking Madock's side with her foot. "But you do the same thing. She wouldn't laugh at you! And I'm glad you're taking it slow with her... but some guys, in the moment, can only think with their dicks, and dicks don't care about taking it slow."
"Well I'll just have to have a long conversation with my dick then." he sighed. "I just hope it'll listen to me." Madock chuckled, preparing for her to complain about him saying the word 'dick' around her. "And I'm not ragging on myself, if we have sex, we have sex, but I won't know what I'm doing. I mean... I will... sort of... but I know I'm going to be nervous as all hell."
"I'm sure most guys are at first, but I bet... once you start, it'll be... natural. Ew, I can't believe we're talking about this." Claire waved her hands. "Look, it's just sex, Madock. A goes into B... and C is achieved. Hopefully. It's not rocket science. I think you're going to psych yourself out by thinking about it too much. Just... let nature take its course, okay? And don't knock anyone up in the process."
Madock shook his head a little and scrunched his nose. "No kids. No babies. Condoms are my friend. If it happens. Which it probably won't happen anyway anytime soon so I'm not... I'm not worrying about it. I can... never mind, I'm totally not talking about this anymore. Sex talk + sister = what the fuck so yeah, totally not talking about this anymore. What are you and Gabe supposed to be doing for your date?" he asked.
Claire laughed and nudged him with her foot again. "Just be careful, that's all I'm saying. Whether it happens soon or not. I don't know what we're doing really... he mentioned the park, or going for coffee. I think it's just going to be laid back... I think anything more might be a bit too much pressure, and fancy dinners and stuff aren't really our style, if that makes sense. What about you? Any plans this weekend?"
"I'm supposed to hang out with Jessalyn tomorrow after graduation. And Gabe's party is tomorrow so I've got that and then Katie's party the next night and... that's about as far as I've gotten so far. Guess I'll figure out anything else later."
"So party, party and then... whatever comes after," Claire said with a small nod. "Gotcha. Don't get uber drunk though, okay? I mean, I doubt you would, with Jess being with you, but still." She grinned. "Big sister's gotta look out for her baby brother, no matter what."
"I won't drink that much, if I drink at all. I gotta take Jessa home after and the last thing I wanna do is get into an accident or something. So yeah, I won't be doing any of that. Maybe a drink or two... nothing big." If he let himself do that much at all. Madock wasn't exactly a fan of drinking, especially with his father being the way he was, but Claire probably already knew that.
"Good." She smiled and slipped her glasses back on. "Anything else you need, now that we've covered Gabe, sex and parties?" She knew Madock hung around with a bunch of jocks, but at least he seemed to be responsible with a good head on his shoulders. She'd be worried about him if he wasn't.
"Don't put them together like that." Madock said, scrunching his nose. "Now I'm going to be thinking that you're gonna have sex with Gabe at his party. God." he rolled his eyes. "Like I need that mental image." he teased. He got up from her bed though and bent down to kiss the top of her head. "Get to bed, loser. Big day tomorrow."
"Doofus! I'm not having sex with Gabe. At his party or anywhere else. Jerk." She laughed and watched him get up from her bed. "Yeah, big day tomorrow. You're driving me, right?" She didn't want to drive with their parents, and she assumed she and Madock would go together.
"Yeah, I'll drive ya. Tell mom and dad we gotta be there early or something like that." he smiled. "Night, Claire." Madock said, then headed to the door. "And good. Sex at a party is pretty nasty." he teased, giving her a little wink and then disappearing out her door.
"I wouldn't know," Claire called as her door shut. She grinned and shook her head before opening her book again to start reading. She paused and thought about texting Gabe, now that he was on her mind, but decided against it. She would see him tomorrow. Tomorrow was going to be the beginning of a lot of new things.